Shattered
by chocogreen
Summary: Egoshipping: His gun was against her chin. For once the roles were reversed. Yet, Misty didn't move a muscle. "You're reflexes have improved," she laughed at the brunette. Gary just smirked back. "I know sugar, I know." Misty has been lost for years and Gary's found out she's part of Team Aqua. Will he be able to get her back home, or will his new life suit him more?
1. All alone

**Disclaimers: I do NOT own Pokémon! This is just fanmade.**

WARNING: This will be an Egoshipping (GaryxMisty) story. If you don't like this pairing I suggest you stop reading right now.

**Shattered**

Chapter one: All alone

"Winters at headquarters are the worst," the young woman sighed as a shiver ran down her spine. She hugged her blue jacket closer to her body and snuggled her nose into her scarf. Her hands trembled when she tried to light her cigarette. A bad habit, she knew. But she was bored. Bored and cold. She could use it to warm her up a little.

She frowned when she heard footsteps behind her. The snow cracked under the man's heavy step and the auburn-haired woman relaxed a bit. No one could get up this high on the rocks without her noticing. It was just a grunt.

Concentrating on her cigarette again she kept on frowning. The wind was too strong. No way she was going to have a smoke tonight apparently.

The man stood directly next to her now and offered her a little box. "Having troubles?" he asked.

She watched him suspiciously out of the corner of her eye. He looked strong, yet a bit dull. His eyes had been on her for a few days snow. At first she had been amused. Another one to turn down. Another one to lose a bet. Now she was annoyed by his presence. No one should come this close to her.

"Thanks," she managed to mutter as she took a match out of the box and finally lit up her cigarette. The man kept standing next to her and she noticed he was only a few years younger. His face still had the rounder features she'd lost. She had to suppress a sight when she inhaled. Warmth. That was all she need now. As an admin she had loads of freedom. Yet, she still had to do these humiliating and annoying tasks as guardian HQ.

Looking at her watch the man spoke again. "You are an admin, right? Admin Emerald."

He looked at her expectantly, flirty and yet scared. She smirked at him, glad she was wearing her heels. Being taller and being able to intimidate others was something she loved.

"You are clearly still a grunt," she commented as she exhaled. "What's your deal? It's not as if you don't know my name. I saw you watching me the other day."

The youngest of the two squeezed his eyes shut for a second. "So you saw."  
"You don't want to know what I know about you and your friends, Clint," she answered him as she put her cigarette in her mouth again. "What are you here for. Just ask what you want to ask and then leave."

"I was just wondering," he began as he darted around her, trying to intimidate her. One stern look of her made him stop immediately though, his pride hurt because of this woman. "You are quite young to be an admin. So tell me," he almost purred at her. "What's your secret? Slept with the boss?"

A laugh came out of emerald eyed woman and she snorted at him. "If you are looking for a good lay, I suggest the women's room at the second floor, room 206," she answered. "And if you want to become an admin, I suggest you start training your Pokémon and your skills."

"I might just follow your orders for once," Clint said before walking off again.

A sigh escaped the young woman's lips and she shook her head. These grunts always thought they had a chance. Yet none of them had been so cocky before. But in the end she had managed to scare him off a little. They were all losers. Not more than a bunch of tools.

She shifted her weight as she threw her cigarette into the ocean beneath her imagined the warmth of the building behind her. The feeling of a soft pillow against her head. She could use a bit of sleep after today's events.

In the morning they'd gone to Lilycove City, where one of the new grunts just had to fall off the boat and almost drown himself. She was a trained water Pokémon trainer, and being in the water was her second nature. How that dumb blonde had made it into Team Aqua, she had no idea. In the end she saved the fella and locked him in one of the cabins while she studied blueprints of a new submarine they were about to steal.

When they succeeded, they almost got caught at Mossdeep City. They were quite lucky to get to HQ on route 130. Her Pokémon were the best of the whole organization. If her Swampert and Dewgong hadn't been there, they would be in prison by now.

After her rounds were finished she rushed back inside, appreciating the warmth that greeted her. The grunt that sat at the front desk nodded at her but she just ignored the older woman. There was no need to be nice to people. Everyone could be your enemy in here.

Her heels clacked on the steel floor as she approached the elevator and waited for it to arrive. When she got in there were two grunts arguing but when they noticed her they nodded and stayed quiet immediately. Although she appreciated the quiet sometimes, she wished there was someone who dared to defy her. If only it was to have a little fun.

As soon as she left the elevator and turned the corner towards her quarters the two started bickering again. She pressed some buttons on her alarm system and fell down on her bed when the doors closed behind her. The covers felt so soft and warm she just wanted to lie there forever.

After half a minute she stood up again though and went to the bathroom to get her pajamas. A little smile crept on her face when she took the Togepi shirt in her hands. There was no need to be nice to others. But when she was alone in her room, she started to appreciate the little things a bit more. She could let her guard down and enjoy the luxury, or on this occasion, the cute shirt she had.

Her auburn hair spilled over her pillow as soon as she laid down and fell asleep, dreaming about swimming with her water Pokémon. But her dreams would almost always turn into nightmares. Just like they did this night.

A knock on the door made her get out of her bed, and when she opened it _he_ was standing in front of her. The raven-haired boy hadn't changed at all. "It's six in the morning," he shouted at her enthusiastically. "We have to go to Evergrand City! If I manage to beat Steven, I will be the Pokémon Master!"

His smile tugged at her heart. She didn't want to say no to him. But there was no other option. She did not belong with him anymore. He knew that. "May and Brock will go with you, you know I can't come…"

He stopped her words as his eyes turned dark and he said "You're right. You can't come. Because I don't need you. You are all alone. And so you will stay."

With a gasp the woman woke up, sweat dripping down her face. It had been a while since her dreams had seemed so real. Most of the time it were her old memories that woke her but not this time.

"Something bad is going to happen", she whispered to herself as she turned around and watched the full moon through her bedroom window. Her eyes closed again and remembered his words. _All alone._

When she woke up the next morning she took an aspirin to get rid of the migraine that had forced its way into her head last night. In her bathroom she opened one of the yellow cabinets and started to brush her teeth. She needed the taste of mint to wake her up every morning.

A few minutes later she entered the shower, still rubbing her eyes as a content sigh escaped her lips. The warm water was so soothing. She smiled a little when she remembered the old days. When she first arrived she was nothing but a mere grunt. And that meant taking a cold shower in a common bathroom. She hadn't been fond of that at all.

Her companions Shelly and Matt were waiting for her in the cafeteria so she didn't blow her hair dry but quickly dried it with a towel, brushing it afterwards.

In all these years she'd been with Team Aqua, there never was a real friend. Not someone to trust her life with. Shelly and Matt had been members since they were little and yet, they were not as good as her. She knew they envied them but they acted as friends towards each other. It was to keep their mind sane. And maybe, if they weren't killing machines by heart, they would be friends.

But there was no time for such thoughts. With one last glance in the mirror the admin took her belt with pokéballs and made sure her gun was loaded. She wasn't an excellent shooter but she knew how to handle the weapon. If anyone tried to creep up on her, that person would be pinned to the ground with a gun against his or her chin in a second. She hadn't shot someone before but she would not hesitate to use it in nasty situations. When she'd gotten an offer to work with the special unit, she denied. There was no purpose in shooting other people. Archie didn't like it one bit but when she defeated him with her Pokémon he told her she could stay and train the grunts. Only if she went on missions from time to time.

She locked the door and walked towards the elevators again, this time no one in sight. The two grunts from yesterday were probably still in bed or guarding HQ. When she got out again, she plastered her stern look on her face. Everyone she encountered nodded or bowed at her and she did not even glance at them. She just made her way to the cafeteria, holding her head up high.

When she entered Clint was seated close to the doors and she looked down on him and smirked as she saw one of the women of room 206 next to him. He smirked back and she just glared at him, making both him and the woman avert their eyes.

Her hot temper was one of the few things she hadn't lost over the years. She never said no to a fight, verbal of physical. But she had been weaker than she was now. When she first became a member of Team Aqua she was an emotional mess. They had laughed at her. She, a gym leader, one of the good ones, the best friend of the Pokémon master. She was there to take them down. For weeks she was locked up in a room. They waited for someone to come and save her. Nobody came in the end. Nobody knew she was gone.

Archie was the first to let her out of the cell, the others eying her suspiciously. He took her with him and told her she could join but she could never leave HQ. No matter what. When he tried to take her Pokémon she begged him to let them stay and in the end he did. He said he'd help her. Take her memories from her. There was nothing she wanted more.

And so it happened that she, and all the others were moved towards the training fields. One by one they passed a Crobat or Alakazam. Everyone needed to forget that Misty existed. They couldn't know that the grunt was a former Gym leader. And so they all forgot. All but Archie. When it was Misty's turn she asked to keep the memories of her childhood intact. She had a mother and father she'd loved. Archie agreed once again but in the end, her memories didn't fade. She still had the bad memories stuck in her head. Only the good ones were sometimes too far away to remember.

She was 13 back then and as she got older, she found her place within the organization. Over the next five years she'd become a young woman. Her hair was shoulder length and instead of carrot orange like it used to be when she was younger, it was now auburn. The pricks that picked on her when she was younger almost crawled down at her feet at that time. Not only because of her looks but because she'd made it to an admin.

Now, at the age of 22 she was Archie's right hand, just like Shelly and Matt. Matt was Archie's cousin, and the next one in line to become the leader of the organization. That was the only reason Shelly loved him. Because he had power.

"Emerald! Over here!" she heard someone yell and when she turned her head she saw Shelly waving at her. This woman would make her headache even worse.

"Good morning, Emerald" she chirped, her red curls bouncing on her back.

When around other people Matt, Shelly and Misty always used each other's code names. It was much safer that way. Only they and Archie knew their real names. But no one knew she was Misty Waterflower, the Waterpokémon trainer. She was just Misty, an orphan from Slateport in their eyes.

"Matt is getting us some food," Shelly said as she was powdering her nose a bit. Misty just nodded and sat down. Every morning Matt would get their food and Shelly would be powdering her nose. Nothing interesting about that.

Shelly kept giving details about the night before. How Matt had almost ripped her clothes from her body when she entered their bedroom. Misty just slouched in her chair a bit and let her eyes wander around the room, not interested in Shelly's story at all.

From the moment she walked in someone had been watching her, she was sure of that. And it wasn't Clint. He was too busy kissing the bimbo. No. There was someone else.

Her eyes kept looking around the cafeteria until they locked with a pair of sapphire orbs. She gulped for a second as she was captured by them. A few feet farther sat a grunt, holding the newspaper. His eyes, looking straight at hers. She knew those eyes. She was sure of it. They were challenging her.

The young man lowered his newspaper a bit and turned the page, acting as if nothing had happened. Yet, when he kept on reading he smirked. He smirked at _her_. She was sure of it.

"Who is he?" Misty elbowed Shelly who was now taking a sandwich from Matt. Her siam eyes followed Misty's and she started giggling immediately.

"Oh _he_", Shelly whispered, still watching the brunette. "He's some new meat. Just entered three weeks ago. I'm surprised you haven't noticed him before. He has been watching you for quite a while now."

"He has?!" Misty shouted at her red-haired friend. "But…"

"I guess your killer reflexes betrayed you," Matt laughed and Misty just growled at him, nibbling on a piece of toast.

Yet, she could not find herself to NOT watch the guy so she watched him out of the corner of her eyes while still in conversation with the two other admins. She would not be caught by him.

It was then that she saw him smirk even harder and she could not stop herself from turning her head towards him. She wanted to say something. She wanted to shout at him, to pin him down and wipe that smirk of his face. That was what she would do.

Then, he locked eyes with her and winked at her. He _winked_ at her. Misty felt her right eye twitch and she looked at her plate again, her cheeks flushed.

A loud laugh came from his direction and Shelly looked from him to her. "Well, well Emerald. I see you've taken a liking to the stranger," she nudged her friend.  
"I have not," Misty replied, standing up. "How dare he think of me as any other woman that he can woo. I will not stand for this," she answered. "Let's start training now. And put him in _my_ group. I will make him suffer."

**Later that day:**

"Alright everyone listen up!" Misty shouted as she looked at the ten new recruits in front of her. This was her job. Training grunts and their Pokémon. This was what she loved. To train Pokémon. Especially the water Pokémon.

A few of the grunts gulped at her stern tone, all but one. Well, that problem would be solved quickly enough. None of them were good material. Yet. All the grunts trained by Misty were the best. Some of them had made it to executives, which was only one class below the admins.

"You shall all address me as admin Emerald, am I clear?" she shouted again, tapping her fingers on her arm.

"Yes admin!" they shouted in unison, their hands next to their heads.

"Good. As you can see you've been divided into three groups. You will be group number one and I will be your trainer. If you ever might cross any of the other admins you will address the woman as Siam and the man as Jet," she continued. Still eying the brunette out of the corner of her eyes. Something was off about him. She knew it.

"Yes admin!" the ten grunts answered her again.

"Now, order out all your Pokémon!"

After a moment all of the Pokémon were standing in front of her. Some as scared as their trainers. Misty couldn't help but smirk. There wasn't much to the Pokémon to be honest. There was one person with a Ludicolo and a young girl owned a strong Pelipper. She could work with them for now. The others would need more training, especially the little dancing Totodile.

When Misty came at the back of the row a huge Blastoise greeted her. For a second she blinked and watched him, not believing her eyes. It had been long since she'd seen an adult Blastoise and she'd forgotten how big they could get. She put out her hand and told the Pokémon to put out his paw. She murmured something after touching his skin and went to inspect his shell. The Pokémon was not disturbed by this at all, as if he was used to it.

"Like what you see?" the brunette asked her. She frowned at his sapphire eyes and felt strange inside. He knew something she didn't. She was sure of it. And that smirk that she wanted to go… It was so… Familiar.

"I am impressed," she admitted. "But a Pokémon says nothing about the qualities of the trainer," she smirked back. "Tell me your name."  
The grunt did something she never expected him to do. He leaned down towards her face, staring intently at her eyes. Misty scolded herself. This man could not be intimidated easily it seemed.

"I'm afraid I can't tell you," he whispered while putting some strands of hair behind her ear. "I'd have to kill you if I did. And that, would be such a shame," he sighed as he took her cheek in her hand.  
The others grunts gasped, some of them hiding themselves behind their Pokémon. Yet, Misty just stood there and let the grunt continue. He was challenging her. And she rather liked it.

"And how, would you kill me?" she answered seductively.

"There are a lot of ways to kill someone," he answered. "But I'd let you choose. After all, someone as gorgeous as you should…"  
Before Misty could pull out her own trick, the grunt lay down on the ground, floored by his own Blastoise who was shaking his head and grumbled something at his trainer.  
"What did you do that for?!" the grunt shouted at his Pokémon. "You know that I..."

Another growl from the Blastoise made the trainer stop and he stood up again, shushing himself in defeat.

"You are lucky my Pokémon here doesn't let me kill you," he said to Misty. "Else you would've…"

"First lesson!" Misty shouted. Her gun was now touching the grunt's chin and he looked down at her with a scared look in his eyes. Finally. "Never play with your target. Always go straight for the kill."

She almost pulled the trigger, making the Blastoise walk a step forward but she smirked at his trainer and put her gun away. "Lesson number two. Never kill an ally. Now all back in line!"

The grunt kept watching her suspiciously and Misty couldn't help but laugh. "As I said. The Pokémon says nothing about the qualities of a trainer. He's definitely smarter than you are."

Before walking away, she patted the Blastoise on his arm. "And I think, I do like you big boy."

**A few weeks earlier somewhere in Kanto:**

"Mew, please help me!" Gary Oak shouted to the sky. He held his arms wide open, waiting for a sign. Of course the Pokémon didn't come. Not that he had expected him to anyway.

He was standing in the middle of his grandfather's garden, in a pond, surrounded by about 10 Starmies and Staryus and an Umbreon sitting on the edge, looking at his master as if he'd gone crazy. The Pokémon however was not far from being right. His trainer didn't need any mental help but he did need some help. The help of someone who knew more about water Pokémon than he did. For months he had tried to determine the gender of a Starmie and a Staryu. He had tried to determine how they reproduced.

"Hey Gary, how are things going?" he heard his grandfather ask, holding a cup of coffee in his hand. The man had just woken up after two days working straight. He'd probably continue as soon his cup was empty.

"They're going bad gramps. I think I need some help. But the problem is I don't know anyone who knows more about water Pokémon than you and I, not even a-"

Gary stopped in the middle of his sentence and his eyes lit up. He did know someone who had spent all her life around water Pokémon. Someone who even owned a Starmie. Someone who could help him.

"Everything all right?" the older professor asked the younger one with a raised eyebrow.

"Couldn't be better!" Gary shouted before running back to the house to make a phone call. He couldn't believe that he hadn't thought of her earlier. The only problem was that he'd been gone for years. He had no idea if she was even still leading the gym. But there was someone who did. An old rival. His best friend.

Although he had rolled up his pants until it reached his knees, water was still dripping down on the floor once he got into the kitchen and he cursed himself for having to clean afterwards. The only thing he wanted to do right now was to get in his car and drive to Cerulean as fast as he could.

"Ash Ketchum speaking!" he suddenly heard in his right ear and Gary smirked.

"Hey there Ashy-boy. How's everything going?"

"Gary! It's been too long! I'm really sorry, guess I've lost track of time but I'm currently in Castelia City and it's so big here. You should see it!"

Gary rolled his eyes and sighed. "I have Ash, I have. And I know you. You always get caught up when you're traveling. Don't worry about it. I'm exactly the same when I'm doing research. That's the reason I was calling you actually. Is Red still living at the gym in Cerulean City?"

"Red?" Ash asked. "You mean Misty? Of course she is! I haven't gotten a letter or a call from her to tell me she quit, so. Why? Having some trouble?"

"Me?" Gary frowned. "Never. I could just use her opinion on something since she's a water Pokémon trainer."

A few minutes later the brunette laid down the phone and started to look for something to clean the floor. Eventually he just took a towel and decided to throw it in the washing bin when he got upstairs to put some other clothes on. He could imagine the sensational sisters giving him weird looks if he arrived in his old pants and a ripped shirt. He had a reputation to maintain after all.

His days as a don Juan were long past. Over the years he had matured and learned to respect the feelings of others but sometimes he just couldn't resist it when some drunk bimbo came up to him and started flirting. He loved all of the attention. He was Gary Oak after all.

When you asked his male fans to say something about him they would all say he was one of the best researchers in the world. Women would say he was handsome and charming. However, there were also people who didn't like him at all. They would say he was cocky, spoiled and desperate for attention. All of these people were right about him. But only few knew his positive traits.

Once he got into his room he opened his closet and took a black and blue sweater and a pair of grey jeans out of it. He dumped his old shirt on the floor and took a look at himself in the mirror before pulling the sweater over his head. His old yin and yang necklace hang in place, right on his chest. It was a gift his mother had left him before she died. His sister had the exact same one but in different colors.

He quickly put on his clothes, realizing it was already past 4 pm and he hoped the gym would be open until 6. He had no intentions of staying home now. He would go and see Misty and ask her all she knew about Starmies. If she couldn't help him then at least he had tried. But he was certain she knew. He had seen her love for water Pokémon back when they were both still travelling.

When he was back downstairs his Umbreon was already waiting for him and he wrote a quick note to his grandfather so that he knew where he was going. After he pasted it on the fridge he ran outside and got into his red convertible. Umbreon sat down next to him on the passenger seat and he turned on the radio with his nose. It was as if the Pokémon shared his good mood. Gary was actually quite excited.

"Gary, Gary," he muttered to himself. "Being excited about seeing Misty Waterflower, the eternal tomboy," he laughed. "What has happened to the world?"  
His Umbreon laid himself down and nudged his trainer to tell him more.  
"Don't you recall Misty?" Gary asked. "Man she was feisty to say the least. That hot temper of us must've made Ash scared quite a lot. She was actually quite funny back in the day. She was even better at bickering with Ashy-boy than I was."  
The Pokémon responded and Gary raised one of his eyebrows at him. "What do you mean? You should remember Red. You know, the girl with her Togepi."  
Umbreon seemed to think for a while and then let out a loud cry, letting his trainer know that he now remembered the girl.  
"I wonder if she has changed," the young professor said out loud before getting on the highway to Cerulean City.

Half an hour later Gary entered the Cerulean Gym, his Umbreon now in his Pokéball. There was a show going on at the moment and he walked over to the receptionist. She was an older woman an eyed Gary for a second before turning back to the computer screen. There was a small frown on her forehead and she let out a frustrated sigh when she had to look up because Gary was now right in front of her.

"Can I help you, professor Oak?" she asked. Her voice didn't sound really friendly but it was clear that the woman tried not to let her frustration get the best of her.

"I was looking for the gym leader. Is she currently performing in the show?"

He smiled at her and he tried to hide his impatience. It was not this woman's fault that he hadn't thought of talking to Misty before.

"All three sensational sisters are currently performing, yes. It should be over in ten minutes. You can wait here if you'd like."

The woman looked back to her screen but Gary coughed to get her attention again. "I was talking about miss Misty Waterflower. Not Violet, Lily and Daisy."

The woman in front of him froze. "Professor," she said, the sound of her voice suddenly changing. "Hasn't anyone informed you that miss Waterflower has left this house nine years ago?"

Gary burst out in laughter. This woman was clearly trying to make him leave so she could continue with her work. If Misty really had been missing Ash would've known. They were best friends for Mew's sake!

"I don't know why you are laughing professor but I'd like to continue with my work. You are only distracting me and I have to finish this before tonight." The old woman stood up and her hands leaned on the desk. She was gazing at him with two cold, grey eyes and her frustration did seem to get the best of her this time.

"I'm really sorry," he said. "But I just called Ash Ketchum, the Pokémon master, and he told me that his best friend, Misty Waterflower, was still here."

"Mister Ketchum hasn't been here for over ten years," the old woman said. "Not since he left for Hoenn. He never called either."

Gary raised an eyebrow. He knew Ash lost track of time sometimes but he wasn't a man who would ignore his best friend for ten years. He would've known if she had really left home.  
Right at that moment Violet entered the entrance hall and smiled when she saw Gary.

"Professor, how nice of you to visit! Did you like come to see the show?" she asked before walking over to him to give him a kiss on his cheek.

All the women in Kanto knew him. How could they not? If it wasn't because of his fortune and fame it was because of his looks. Every woman would like to kiss him after all. Even if it was just one the cheek.

"My dearest Violet, I would've loved to see the show but I was actually looking for Misty."

"Misty?" she asked. "She left home when she was thirteen. Didn't you know? We're actually better off without her. The only thing she did was researching for days. She's such a boring person! Not that you're not cool, professor!" she giggled.

The receptionist let out another irritated sigh but managed to keep her cool. "Professor," she began. "I'd love to offer you a cup of coffee. Why don't you let miss Waterflower go back to her sisters so they can properly change before talking to you."

**Later that night:**

Gary drove back home with a strange feeling in his stomach. The sisters had told him about Misty leaving home. None of them ever thought it was important. After all she had been traveling since she was ten years old. She could take care of herself. Ash had called a few times apparently but the sisters informed him she was traveling. As they suspected she was doing.

The young professor had asked if she had left anything and they said she had only taken her Pokémon with her and a few clothes. One day they woke up and their little sister was gone. They suspected she wouldn't come back so they transformed her room to a sauna for them to relax him.

"Do you still have her stuff?" Gary asked.

"We gave like most of it away to charity," Daisy shrugged. "About a few years ago we just like needed room in the attic for all our old clothes so we removed her stuff."

"We still have her work though, if you want it," Violet offered and Gary accepted it. A few minutes later he was carrying a big box full of books down the attic and kissing goodbye to the sisters. When he left the receptionist eyed him again and he could see that she was actually glad he was leaving.

However, he didn't really care. Misty was probably traveling the world and trying to figure out everything about water Pokémon. The hot tempered tomboy was having the time of her life while he was still trying to figure something out she had probably discovered years ago.

When he got home he took the heavy box in his arms and took it to his desk in the lab. When he opened it he immediately realized that there was a lot of reading material and he probably had to spend two days reading everything. But it was worth it. Even if there were things he already knew he could see her opinion and compare it with his own.

"The only thing I do find strange," Gary said to his Umbreon who was happy to be out of his pokéball again. "Is that Ash never called his best friend, but always just called to the gym. And why did Misty leave all her research? It' must've taken years to gather all of this."

Five hours later, Gary took another book out of the box and put his glasses back on his nose. In one of her notes he had found some interesting subject about the horn of a Seel and in another one he had learned more about the evolution of an Eevee into a Vaporeon. Misty sure was a talented researcher. He just wished he could contact her now. This was work from when she was 13 years old. Mew knew how much she had learned by now.

He began reading in the book, scanning over the words to see if he found the name of a Pokémon. He would read everything if he had more time but right now he just had to have the main topics about Pokémon. He would deal with the rest of her research later. It was then that he suddenly saw the name Togepi and he decided to read the page from top to bottom.

_He's been gone for over a year now. He never calls. He left. Brock left. They all left. The only person I sometimes talk to is Tracey but he's heading to Unova to study at Mode Street in Castelia City. He's planning on becoming a real artist._

I miss them, my friends. I miss travelling. I miss my little Togepi. She left me too. They don't care about me. They're all living their own lives. Even here at home my own sisters don't care about me. I thought that they would've changed. That they would've seen a change in me. But I'm still the little runt. Because in this home there are only three Sensational sisters and one little runt. At least that's what Daisy always says.

I don't think I can keep this up for much longer. I feel so alone. I'm planning on leaving. Leaving this life. Not just travelling. But letting the old Misty die. Who would miss me anyway? But I'll have to make sure I have a plan so no one ever finds me again. I'll have to leave the region. Maybe I can go to Hoenn. Mom was born there, somewhere in Slateport. Maybe I can start a new life there. A happy life.

I'll write you soon. And if I don't, I'm already gone.

The young professor closed the book and took a better look at the cover. 'Misty Waterflower's diary' it said. Realization dawned upon him. Misty wasn't traveling. She wasn't traveling at all. She had been depressed when writing this. She had been all alone. There was a chance she still felt lonely right now. There even was a chance she had died long ago. Maybe she had died in a forest, attacked by a wild Pokémon without any of her friends to protect her. Maybe she had suffered, all alone. Lying somewhere and not letting anyone see the pain. Just like his mother had done when she died. She had been lying in the hospital, telling her father to keep her children at home. She didn't want to make them see her pain. She died, all alone.

Something tugged at Gary's heart. Part of him felt he wanted to help the girl. He wanted to know if she was alright. He'd never liked her, but he had never disliked her either. He wanted to make sure she was living that happy life in Slateport. But why?  
"It's just for my research, okay?" he said to his Umbreon, who was not convinced by his excuse at all. The Pokémon snorted at him and turned his head.  
"I am _NOT_ doing this because I'm worried. She is _NOT_ my friend," Gary answered, not sure if what he'd said was true.

**A few weeks later at Slateport**

Gary was standing on Slateport Beach, the sand warm beneath his feet. He had brought his Kingler with him to make sure if Misty's research was right. Although she never discovered anything about Starmies, she had written down some interesting facts about Krabby's and Kinglers. Doing research was just one of the things he had to do in order to distract himself. He had been looking for Misty for days but no one seemed to recognize her. Of course he only had an old picture he'd found in her diary but she couldn't have changed that much over the years.

"Maybe I should've called Ash," he murmured to his Umbreon next to him. "But he's too busy being a Pokémon Master. Besides, he'd be worried sick. Hell, even I'm worried sick and she's not even my friend. What kind of fool would go to another region to find his best friend's old friend?"

His Umbreon looked up at him, cried once and waited for response. He and his trainer would often have important conversations when he was doubting himself or his actions.

"You think it would've been wrong if I didn't come, don't you?" he asked.

Another cry.

"But I don't even know her! Who would do that? I'm not that kind of person. I'm not the hero! Ashy-boy always was. Remember that one time at the Radio Tower? Or when he befriended a Latias and saved a whole city?"

The Pokémon sighed and turned his head, growling something. Kingler just stood there, watching them.

"Why am I a fool?" Gary asked, letting his arms fall down to his side. Ever since his Umbreon was just a little Eevee they had become best friends. But, like trainer, like Pokémon. They were both very stubborn.

The Pokémon turned its head and looked up at him. If he could raise an eyebrow he would've probably done that as well. He didn't like his trainer thick, black hair. He was wearing a wig to make sure no one recognized him but it was just a ridiculous idea. The sunglasses were stupid as well. Almost no one here in Hoenn knew him except for a few researchers and such. Besides, they all thought he was still in Kanto. The only one he had told was his grandfather but even he didn't know why Gary was on a trip.

"Fine then," Gary said, crossing his arms. "Why don't you tell me after I finish. I hope you'll have a good explanation by then."

Half an hour later it was almost 7 pm. Everyone had gone home or to the café for a drink. Gary however was standing on the shore, wearing his glasses and holding a paper in his right hand. With his left hand he was ordering and showing his Pokémon what to do and the pen behind his ear almost fell onto the sand when he shook his head.

"It's not like that Kingler, you have to-"

He stopped in his words when he heard someone running towards him and when he turned around a pair of siam eyes greeted him. The woman wore a dark blue sweater and black shorts, her dark red, curly hair moving with the wind. Her cheeks were a bit flushed and Gary wasn't really sure if it was because of her running.

"Can I help you?" he asked, his famous smirk plastered on his face. Now that the woman was closer he could clearly see that she was a few years older than him. She seemed to be in her late twenties but Gary didn't mind. This was probably the first woman that had the nerve to walk up to him in the four days he had been staying here. Maybe women really fell for his untamed mane, and not for the thick black hair he had now.

"Actually you can," she giggled. "I've been looking at you for the past hour or so. Do you want to have a drink? You seem so lonely here by yourself..."

Ah. The flushed cheeks were clearly because of the alcohol, he could smell it in the air when she had spoken. Gary didn't mind anyway. Who would say no to free a drink offered by a woman? Besides, he could use some distraction. He really had been standing here for an hour and he still hadn't written down anything. Maybe this woman even knew something more about Misty.

"Sure," he smiled, charming her. "I'll just get my things and we'll go. Could you wait just a-"

"Siam!" another woman screamed and when he looked up an auburn haired woman with a blue summer dress was walking in their direction. She had goose bumps all over her skin due to the wind and a frown was plastered on her face. Her right index finger was pointing at the woman in front of him. "You, come with me. You've had enough to drink for today. You need your bed."

"But Emerald," she whined. "It's just 7 pm and this handsome young man," her hands found their way to Gary's arm, "wanted to have a drink with me."

Gary could feel the affectionate grip the woman held on him and he tried to rub her off gently when he saw the murderous look of the younger woman. She was about his age he figured but she surely acted as if she was the other one's mom.

Emerald sighed. "You," she shouted at him. "Leave her alone. She already has a boyfriend. Remember Siam? Remember Jet?"

The woman giggled and nodded. "Oh, yes! Of course! But he's not here. We could always..." Her hands found their way to Gary's cheeks and she pinched them a few times. "So adorable..."

"If the lady wants to have a drink, I'll buy her one," Gary smirked. "And I'll buy you one too-"

"You, listen to me very carefully." Her voice was trembling a bit out of anger and she pushed his chest with her hand. "This woman is taken and wouldn't even like you if she was sober. Second of all, I don't want to have a drink with you. And third, let me show you how a professional Pokémon trainer does things".

She took a step to the right and crouched down in front of the Kingler, her tone and expression suddenly changing.

"Hello there," she said. "Is it alright if I help you for a second? Else your trainer will probably make you do it over and over again and I know how heavy those claws of you can be."

The Kingler looked up at his trainer who just shrugged and carefully the woman took the Pokémon's left and biggest claw in her hands.

"I noticed that you were trying to see how the upper body connects with the lower," she almost growled at the young professor. "You have to help your Pokémon in order to see it long enough to write everything you need down. This Kingler is almost an adult which means it's at least ten years old. You should know that his claw is too heavy for him to lift such a long time. Now come here with that paper and write down what you need. If you look here-"

Gary's mind did two things at the same time. One part was listening to her and writing down whatever she told him, sometimes even checking if she was right and the other was wondering what had happened the moment she had met his Kingler. She had gone from bossy and overprotective mom to a friendly and caring Pokémon trainer. The most surprising thing of all was that she knew all of this. She knew what she was saying and even pointed out other things when she walked around the Kingler and started to point at its paws.

"How do you know all of this?" he asked, his tone filled with confusion.

The auburn haired woman stopped talking and the only sound he heard was a drunken Siam, patting his Umbreon. He could feel the tension in the air. Her mood had suddenly changed and he didn't like it one bit.

"I was a water Pokémon researcher in a past life," she said with a sad smile.

**The next morning:**

"What a headache," he murmured to himself when he got up the next morning. He rubbed his eyes and put out his hands, searching for a shirt to pull on. The only thing he found was a wall and he realized that he wasn't home but in a pokécenter in Hoenn.

"Great," he continued while almost dragging himself out of his bed. "I can't even remember what happened last night."

He walked through the room to the small bathroom and almost stumbled over his shoes while doing so. Once he felt the ice cold water of the shower in his face everything slowly came back to him and he remembered that he had gone to the café after the drunk and the sober woman left. The bartender had given him a bit too many shots.

He got out of the shower again a few minutes later and when he had put on his clothes he realized that the notes he had written down had disappeared. He started to look under the bed, in the pockets of the clothes he wore yesterday, in his suitcase but he couldn't find them anywhere.

A sigh escaped his lips when he sat down on his bed again. It was then he saw a paper lying on Misty's box. He smiled, got up and took it in his hands. This woman really was a smart one. He wondered where she'd learned all of this. There were only a few people talented as her and even in Misty's books there weren't any notes of-

_"I was a water Pokémon researcher in a past life."_

Gary's eyes widened. The woman he had seen yesterday. "That hair color," he murmured. "That temper, that knowledge, those eyes..."

He took the picture of Misty out of his pocket and looked at it carefully. There was no doubt about it. The woman he had seen was Misty. She wasn't alone, she had a friend here. She was safe.  
"But why the name change…" he murmured.

**20 minutes later at Slateport beach:**

"Do you know her very well?" Gary casually asked the bartender. His Umbreon had convinced him to go back to make sure she really was alright. He had only seen her for a few minutes after all.

"What do you mean?" the man asked. "She's not a friend of mine but she comes to the café from time to time. Why? Are you interested?"

"In her?" Gary smirked. The idea of him being interested in that little tomboy. Not a chance. Although he had to admit that the years had done good things to her. Maybe the tomboy part had disappeared.

"In the organization," the man whispered. "You've been talking to both Siam and Emerald yesterday. It's not often I see someone do something like that."

"The organization?" Gary asked. "As in-"

"Team Aqua of course," the man continued. "Do you want to become a grunt? Maybe you can get in, if you have a strong Pokémon or a strong will. Why don't you ask Emerald herself? She left half an hour ago. She's probably somewhere near Route 110. At least that's what she said to Siam."

"Do you mean that she's in team Aqua?!" Gary shouted.

"Keep your voice down," the older man hissed. "Of course she's a member of team Aqua. She's an admin. The best we have."

Gary shook his head. Misty part of an evil organization. No way. She belonged at the good side. She was a good person.

"Of course," Gary agreed. "I think I'll go and look for her."

Gary left the building as soon as he could, taking his jacket in his hands and running back towards the Pokémon Center.

"I can't believe it," he said to his Umbreon. "She just can't be… bad."

**10 minutes later at Route 110:**

Misty stood still in front of her mother's grave. No tears fell. There was nothing but silence. Whenever she visited Slateport, she would always come here. Her sisters never did. Not that she expected them to. Being here, on her own was a good opportunity to control her emotions.

"I miss you," she whispered as she crouched down and put down a lily on the grave. Her Vaporeon sat next to her and curled its tail around her leg to comfort her.

About 100 feet farther Gary Oak and his Umbreon looked at her. "Surrounded by many and yet so alone," he murmured. "Just like mom."

The Pokémon looked up and nodded once. He had never seen his trainer's mother because she'd died long before he was even born but he had heard stories about her. Loads of stories.

"What should we do? When I heard she was a team aqua member I wanted to let her be, but now.. She looks so lost. Maybe she just got off the right track and she needs someone to help her find the right track again.. Maybe Ash can get her back..

Gary leaned to a wall of a house with his shoulder and sighed. The young woman in front of him looked so vulnerable and nothing like the one he had seen before. Yet, she hadn't changed a bit. She was still the girl from the diary only older and more able to hide her real feelings.

"Why aren't you answering?" he whispered to his Pokémon but when he looked down he immediately shook his head.

"Oh no, you've got to be kidding me. You think that _I_ am the one who should go and help her? Why?"

"Umbre, Umb!"

"Because we're in the same position?! Oh please. I'm not lonely, I have a lot of friends and Pokémon around me. She has a hot temper and always looks for trouble with her stubborn attitude. And that big ego of hers is probably still somewhere in there. We're not alike at all!"

The dark type Pokémon decided to end the conversation and look into the other direction. His trainer would realize the real truth soon enough. He'd go after her.

**A/N: I'm very sorry to everyone who was waiting for a new chapter. There aren't any yet, as I've started to rewrite this story. But hey! The good thing is I started writing again I guess ^^ I'll try to upload the rewritten next chapter this week :) **

**Chocogreen x**


	2. Illnesses

**Disclaimers: I do NOT own Pokémon! This is just fanmade.**

WARNING: This will be an Egoshipping (GaryxMisty) story. If you don't like this pairing I suggest you stop reading right now.

**Shattered**

Chapter two: Illnesses

Misty's room was a mess. Her clothes were spread out on the floor, her night table blocked the way to her bathroom and Misty herself was well… She was discovering the joys of crawling under a bed as an adult. Her Vaporeon sat right next to her trainer, her tail flicking from left to right, curious as to what her trainer was doing this time.

"I'm sure that medicine is somewhere around here," Misty grunted from underneath her bed. "If I can't stop your sneezing fit, I'll go crazy for sure. Maybe it's in the bathroom…"

A curse followed when she hit her bed. Rubbing the sore spot she stood up and frowned down at her Pokémon. "Let me see," she demanded.

The Pokémon obliged and Misty crouched down, taking the Pokémon's neck in her head. "Higher honey, I can't see…" she muttered to her Pokémon as she squinted her eyes a bit. The back of the Pokémon's throat was swollen and red. A color she didn't like on her favorite eeveelution. At all.

A small sneeze followed and Misty wiped it off with the sleeve of her green sweater. The water type looked at its trainer apologetically while Misty patted its head.

"I'm going to wash my face and look for that medicine," she said to her happily before darting off towards the bathroom, putting her night table back. She took one of the pink towels and let the water run. It was then she heard the loudest sneeze ever, followed by a wave of cold water. Only Misty's face was still dry, as she'd used the towel to protect herself.

Carefully she lowered the towel, only to be met with a sad Vaporeon. She let out a loud laugh and took the Pokémon in her arms, cuddling it as she opened the cabinet right in front of her.

She found five little bottles in the end, all with a different color. Misty put her Vaporeon back down and sniffed at all of them once before deciding the purple one was the one she was looking for. After giving the medicine to her Pokémon, she put it back into its pokéball. It was then she noticed the current situation of her bedroom.

All the clothes she'd gotten out of her closet were wet, so were her sheets and well… Practically everything that was in her room was. "Well Vaporeon," she said with a bemused look. "I must say that I'm impressed. I never saw a room drown before. But I think you managed to kill my bedroom today."

A devilish smile played onto her lips. "Good thing there's a cleaning crew," she said to herself. "Good thing I'm an admin."

She got out of the bedroom, her feet getting more wet with every step she took. In the back of her closet she found a pair of black jeans and a Growlithe-sweater. It was not what she'd hoped for but it was better than nothing. She took a pair of grey sneakers as well and quickly changed, only putting her shoes on when she was outside.

"Now where to go…" she whispered to herself as she looked from left to right, a frown plastered on her face. She'd always thought the sweater looked quite cute. Especially with the two ears on top… Maybe she could make use of that.

Misty put her hands in the front pocket of her sweater and walked off in the direction of the elevator. Shelly and Matt's Azumarill greeted her when she entered. The little Pokémon didn't like her that much though. She'd once stepped on its tail when it was still an Azurill. Their relationship went downhill after that.

Shelly eyed her suspiciously. "What are you up to, walking around in your regular clothes?" she asked as she pushed some buttons to go the ground floor. "You usually don't wear them inside the building. Especially not _that_ sweater," she pointed out.

"Vaporeon used her Water Gun inside my room," Misty sighed. "I'm just going to ask the cleaning crew to come and clean everything up. And in the meantime… I have a small project to work with," she winked.

Shelly nodded at her, knowing what she meant. "He's on duty right now. You should try and catch him if you're outside. Good luck with that by the way. I heard you threatened him with a gun."

Misty snorted once, tapping her foot impatiently. "I didn't threaten him, I just…"

"Scared a guy who might actually be interested in you, away," the red-haired woman finished her answer for her. "Why do you _always_ do that Misty? I mean come on. How long have you been here? Five, six years?"

"Nine actually," Misty responded when the elevator stopped. "And he is _not_ interested in me. He just thinks I'm a push-over," she scoffed. "Anyway, I'm going to go. See you later."

Shelly nodded once and turned the other direction, the water Pokémon following her. Misty could've sworn it put its tail in the air as if to say "Walk to Darkrai, woman".

Misty paced over to the secretary at the desk and explained the whole situation that had occurred in her bedroom. Five minutes later she was outside, watching the grunts patrol. On her right there was a Mightyena running in circles around its partner, jumping in the air sometimes. Such fools.

She then noticed a large and broad rock to her left which was… Moving. "Blastoise," she smirked to herself as she walked towards the Pokémon and its trainer.

**Ten minutes earlier, outside HQ: (Gary's POV)**

"I did call her Gary!" Ash screamed at his best friend. "I called the gym several times. They said Misty was out traveling. They never said she left. I just assumed…"

"You assumed wrong," Gary answered softly. He didn't want to be heard or seen by anyone. His Blastoise would make sure no one did. "She… has become part of Team Aqua Ash," he whispered into the darkness as he rubbed his temple.

It was silent for a while, both men lost in thought. In the background Gary could hear a woman's voice. She was talking happily. Then suddenly she stopped, asking Ash what was wrong. He must've shaken his head because she was quiet too. Everything was.

"That can't be," Ash mastered to say. "If this is your way of trying to make clear I should've visited or called her, I don't think it's funny," he murmured. "Although Misty might've put you up to this, I'm telling both you and her that-"  
"I'm not lying Ash."

Another silence followed. Gary sat down for a while, his left arm resting on his knee. Blastoise was right behind him. Shielding him from any danger that might come.

"This afternoon," Gary began as he listened to the waves beneath him, "she held a gun against my chin. I knew Red could be angry but this… There was no anger. Her eyes were so cold and her voice so emotionless. It was almost as if… As if she was not really there anymore you know. And yet… That day in Slateport, she was Misty. She was so _her_."

"I- I can't-" Ashe tried to say. But he couldn't. He just stayed quiet and listened to Gary, recalling everything that had happened.

Three weeks he'd been living here. Three weeks he'd watched her. Looking for something that reminded him of her. Yet nothing did. It was as if she'd built a wall around herself. Until earlier that day… She'd blushed when he winked at her. He was sure of it. He'd seen her anger, her embarrassment. The look on her face when she saw his Blastoise.

"Gary, go home," Ash said to his friend. "You don't have to this. You don't have to stay there. You have a life outside. I will find a way to get to Misty. I will try to get her out. After the championship is over I'll come to Hoenn and-"

"No," Gary replied, shaking his head. "I'll bring her back home. The only time when she shows her emotions she's either playing with her Pokémon, on her own or… Or talking to _me_. Challenging _me_. I just wanna know why. Why did she become like this. I'm a researcher by heart Ashy-boy," he laughed. "My mind can't handle a mystery unsolved."

"Gary, have you lost your mind?" Ash answered. "If that organization knows who you are they could kill you, they could-"

"They won't," Gary stated. "They didn't kill Misty back then. The only thing they can do is keep me, or ask for ransom. You know my grandfather and I can pay any amount of money. Besides. I've got Umbreon with me. If I'm in danger, he'll come to my side."

The brunette caressed his necklace and smiled a little. People had never understood why he'd made his necklace into a pokéball. But in the end, that plan worked out pretty fine for him.

"Call me," Ash responded. "If I need to come and get you, don't hesitate. Just call."

His Blastoise let out a roar and nudged Gary in the shoulder. Someone was coming his way.

"Gotta go Ketchum," he quickly said as he put away his phone. Right when he got up Misty appeared and he couldn't help but smile. There she was again, coming for him. Apparently Red was still up for a battle. He'd try not to woo her this time though. He'd found a different tactic to get close to her. To challenge her, to make her annoyed with him so badly she'd want to hit him. But maybe… That meant flirting with her after all.

**Misty's POV:**

"Good evening, Kai," she said after patting Blastoise on his paw. "I hope you were not just sitting around, doing nothing?"

Blastoise growled once in response and she smiled at the Pokémon. "Of course you heard me coming, now didn't you?" she replied to the Pokémon. Somehow she'd always been better at having contact with Pokémon. Humans were too complex. Their emotions made them less loyal. Humans betrayed you. Pokémon never did.

Misty played with a strand of her hair as she waited for the grunt's response. He'd not seemed fazed by her remark. Neither by the use of his name. As if he was expecting her to know. Or maybe he was so scared, the poor guy couldn't even think straight anymore. Shame.

"I was actually picking up something," he smiled as he held up a water stone in his hand, studying it. "Should I give this to you, admin Emerald, or?" he questioned her, his smile still tugging at his lips.

"You may keep it," she answered. "You might need it in the future."

He nodded once and put the stone in his back pocket, walking away from her. She glared at his back. Why was he acting so indifferent now when earlier that day…

"What brings you here, if I may ask?" he asked casually, both of his hands resting in his sides as he stood at the edge on the cliff. One push and there'd be no more Kai.

"Why are you being so polite, if I may ask?" Misty scoffed as she crossed her arms. She just wished she'd brought a pack of cigarettes with her. It was cold outside. Back in Slateport it was warm the whole year 'round. Oh how she wished to be there again.

"Blastoise," he reacted. "He doesn't like it when I play with people's feelings. That's why he knocked me over. He doesn't like it when I act that way. But hey. You can't blame a man for trying, certainly not with that outfit," he eyed her. "Looks kinda cute. Especially those ears. I thought people here only liked water Pokémon."

She blinked once and looked down, wanting to cover up her body as he smirked at her. This man… It was then his Blastoise's paw gently slapped the back of the trainer's head.

"My oh my," Misty laughed. "Definitely smarter than your trainer aren't you?" the Pokémon just shrugged and Misty kept on laughing as Kai rubbed his neck. "High paw my friend!"

She put out her right hand for the Pokémon to touch and he put out his for her to touch it. Even if the Pokémon tried to be gently, it could still hurt a lot. He was definitely a strong one. She looked up at him expectantly and Blastoise bowed down so Misty could climb onto his shell. When the Pokémon stood tall and straight again she couldn't help but to let out a tiny giggle. A second later she glared down at Kai, not appreciating the look he was giving her.

"Why being so nice to my Pokémon? Regret pointing that gun at me?" Kai asked as he and his Blastoise walked a bit farther, the Pokémon careful not to let the woman drop. His eyes would dart over to her sometimes and she patted the Pokémon on the back, telling him not to worry.

"Maybe I've changed my opinion about you," Misty said. "A little." She was still working out her plan but sitting on the Pokémon gave her the advantage. If she could just pretend to slip then she would be the one to laugh.

Kai stopped in his tracks, looked up at her and stared into her eyes again, making her feel uncomfortable. There was something in those eyes she recognized. Yet, she couldn't place them. They belonged to someone, someone she knew...

The grunt cleared his throat after the staring contest had ended and they walked in silence for a while, she still sitting on the water Pokémon's back. The inner researcher in Misty started to watch his every move. The first thing she noticed was that he walked with his shoulders straight. He didn't slump like most of the guys around here did. No, he had some sort of… Grace in his step.

He kicked a small pebble in front of him and another smile followed. She was sure he was thinking about something. There was a memory he'd found back in the back of his mind. Then his hand went towards his face and he touched the bridge of his nose, looking a bit confused afterwards. So, he wore glasses normally. Interesting…

The silence was comfortable and Misty could feel her eyes close as the Pokémon's step rocked her. When Kai started whistling a tune, she got pulled back into her memories. His hands were in his pocket now and everyone now and then he kicked a pebble as if trying to find the right beat.

A shiver ran down Misty's spine as she realized what he'd been doing. He was making her feel comfortable. Her eyes opened again and he was still whistling, sometimes looking from left to right, still guarding HQ. He'd not noticed her sudden revelation. He was just joyful, so was his Pokémon. They didn't realize she could kill them if she wanted too. They were too relaxed…

"Where did you get your Blastoise from?" she suddenly asked, making him lose the beat. He turned around and frowned at her a bit, angry for breaking his good mood. Something wasn't quite right about this man in front of her. He meant _trouble_. She knew that.

"He was my starter," he smiled at his Pokémon while stroking its nose. "My mother grew up next to a water Pokémon gym in Sinnoh. The leader gave me a Squirtle for my tenth birthday."

Lies, Misty thought to herself. No way Crasher Wake would give up his Pokémon for someone like him. When she was still at the gym, she'd once asked him to send a Pokémon so she could study it. He refused immediately, telling her that he did not hand over his Pokémon. To anyone.

"She had a good relationship with Crasher Wake then?" Misty asked as she stretched out her arms a bit. She was getting tired. She'd have to make her move soon or else her chance would be lost. Besides, the grunt would probably have to go inside too in a few seconds.

"Apparently she did," Kai laughed at her, going through his hair with his right hand. "What's with the interrogation? Scared of me or something?"

"As if," Misty scoffed down at the grunt, her arms crossed over her chest, the Growlithe's eyes now looking weird because of the wrinkles in her sweater. "I am scared of no one."

"Then maybe, you want to get to know me better?" Kai inquired as he looked up into her eyes. She had no idea why but every time he did that, a bell rang in the back of her mind. Something was definitely wrong with him… But what?

"Oh please," Misty laughed. "As if I ever wanted to know _you_. No, I need to check we don't have some intruders in here. You could be infiltrating this organization. You could be part of Team Magma without us knowing. But don't worry, I'll find out. I always do," she warned him.

He let out a loud laugh, ready to answer her but suddenly stopped. He turned his head and tried to look beyond his Blastoise. So he had heard it too. Interesting. Not every grunt was able to pick up a sound. Especially not when feeling as comfortable as he. Most of them only heard things because they'd become paranoid. Yet, he was so relaxed.

"Who is there?" Misty demanded as she jumped off Blastoise's back, standing protectively in front of the Pokémon, Kai next to her. Both of them were watching the darkness, she holding her gun and he ready to order his Pokémon to attack.

After a few seconds Blastoise let out a reassuring growl. Both of them relaxed and Misty put away her gun. If the Pokémon couldn't smell or hear anyone then it had probably been a flying Pokémon after all.

"Guess I'll go then," she murmured as she put some of her hair behind her ear. "Unless… You want me to stay?"

Kai looked down at her and smiled. So her plan was working. She couldn't not smirk, but she tried and as he took a step closer and leaned down she knew her move had been super effective. Yet, she had not expected there'd be a counterattack. She'd not expected him to be so… Different.

"I'm sorry, my lady," he said as he took her small hand in his and placed a kiss on top of it. "I won't fall into your trap today. Maybe some other time."

She pulled back her hand quickly, rubbing it off on her sweater and he smirked down at her as he put his hands in his pocket again. His eyes never left her, not until she turned and walked away. But she knew his eyes were still watching her back and she could see him standing there, hands in his pockets and grin on his face. She'd wipe it away soon enough though.

**Four weeks later on the training field: (Gary's POV)**

Misty had been running around with a clipboard all day. Sometimes she'd nibble on the back of her pen and frown at the other grunts. A new one had joined the grunts two weeks ago, a small blonde girl with a Raichu as strong as LT. Surge's. Yet, her Mudkip wasn't a fighter. Misty hated it when Pokémon were undertrained. Cause her grunts were always the best.

Gary watched her from the pool that lay next to the training field. His whole body was hidden underwater, only his nose and the top of his head peeked out over the water. Sometimes she'd turn around, feeling him watching her and she'd frown. One time he'd waved at her with a smile on his face, making her turn her back to him, shaking her head as she did.

Some of the others looked down on him for trying to get close to her. They knew she was off limits. Even as a friend. But still. He knew he'd make her notice him. Even if it took forever. He'd get to know her, know the reason why she was even here. And then, he'd take her back to Kanto with him.

Ash had called him a few times over the past few weeks, checking up on him. His friend still could not accept or understand his choice to stay with Team Aqua. Neither did Gary really. He just knew he had to. For once, he'd be the hero. Not Ash.

"Kai!" Misty yelled, clutching her clipboard as her head turned in search of him. When she spotted him as he got out of the pool she frowned at him. He took a towel and started drying himself off, some of the female grunts watching him as he did.

"Yes, admin?" he replied, his towel now hanging in his neck.

"Put on some clothes will you. I'd like to have a battle with you. You've been swimming and lying around all day. I will kick your butt for not training like the others," she said, one of her hands in her hip.

"You got a little something there," he pointed towards the corner of her mouth. "Some ink I think."

Misty turned around furiously and he let out a laugh, as he caught his clothes after one of the other grunts threw them at him. Some of the women pouted and then glared at the young grunt. He just shrugged and mouthed a "what?" to them. He was such a slime when it came to the auburn-haired woman in front of Gary. If the poor women wanted to watch his body, then why take that pleasure away from them?

When he saw Misty glaring at him he decided to put on his trousers and shirt after all. The wrath of a woman, was something he'd rather not face. He could remember his sister May throwing tantrums all day…

"Will we use the battle field?" he asked her as she strode over to him, still scribbling down some things. He tried to watch what she was writing but she placed the clipboard against her chest.

"Yes. Now, show me how good that Blastoise is," she smirked as she ordered out her Vaporeon. The Pokémon growled once at Gary and followed it's trainer to the edge of the battlefield.

They stood right opposite each other, both of their Pokémon now out of their pokéball. The other grunts had gathered around the battlefield, the new one and her Raichu intently watching Gary. One of the grunts ran off, probably calling his friends. None of the grunts had battled an admin before. And yet, here he was. Loss or win, it wouldn't matter. People would know his name, they'd know about the battle.

Gary smiled. That was exactly what he wanted. He wanted word to reach Archie. He wanted to become an admin himself. Nothing would annoy her more, nothing would give him a better chance at getting through to her.

"Ready?" he shouted at the woman in front of him. Misty responded with a nod and so both of their Pokémon dashed off towards the middle of the battle field. He could see the confused look on her face. His Blastoise was as fast as a small Pikachu. He'd trained his Pokémon well. Strength was not always the most important when raising them. The element of surprise, made you win more often than brute strength did.

"Gyro ball!" Gary shouted when he got close enough to the Pokémon. Yet, he'd not expected Vaporeon to pull off a Shadow Ball. He should've known though. Misty's Pokémon were probably the best trained in the whole building. Except for his of course.

The two orbs hit and an explosion followed, making them and everyone who was watching put their hand in front of their eyes. The cloud of dust that greeted them disappeared after a few seconds though.

"Nice move you got there," Misty said, genuinely proud for once. "But that won't defeat me. Vaporeon use Hydro Pump!"

And so their battle continued, both of them ordering their Pokémon to attack. And still, their moves were as strong as the other's, they evaded the attacks as quickly.

A crowd had gathered around the training field. Most of the male grunts were rooting for Misty while the female ones kept whistling at Gary. He smirked a few times and waved at some of them, making them squeal in delight. If only he had this power over Misty. It'd be so much easier to win her over.

But somehow he didn't like to see her as one of his many captures. No. He didn't want to get her to love him, to adore him. She just needed to trust him. To walk away from this whole circus.

In the corner of his eyes he could see Shelly and Matt arriving as the crowd split in two to let them through. Behind them was Archie. Right what Gary was hoping for.

"Let's end this!" Gary shouted at his Pokémon. "Now!"

Blastoise nodded once and jumped in the air, straight at Vaporeon. Misty ordered the Pokémon to dodge and so it did. In the meantime the bigger Pokémon had dug its way underground. All Gary could do was hope his Pokémon didn't hit the a floor of steel while digging. They'd be done for if Blastoise did.

"A ground attack on a water-type Pokémon?" Misty laughed. "How stupid. This won't have an effect at all. Amuse me," she said as she bowed. She was so confident about herself. Gary liked that.

Shelly and Matt didn't seem to be amused by their battle. Not even they could hold their own against Misty for that long. When Archie found Gary watching at him, the older man looked at him in a way Gary knew too well. He saw potential. He saw power.

Not that he would like it if his capabilities would be used by this man. He'd vowed to himself that he'd leave as soon as he had to kill someone. He wouldn't go that far for Misty. For no one. Part of his mind knew that if he wanted to save Misty, he probably would have to do it. But he couldn't.

The ground rumbled close to Vaporeon and Misty ordered it to jump in the air, expecting Blastoise to just come up again. What she didn't expect the Pokémon to do was to come up, and jump in the air as well with an enormous speed.

The crowd went silent for a second as Gary screamed his next attack. "Skull Bash!"

Blastoise hit the little Vaporeon with such force that it flew backwards. Misty ran to get her Pokémon and caught it in her arms, flying backwards against the wall herself as she did so.

They all watched the defeated admin who sat with her Pokémon in her hands, her back slumped against the wall. She winced for a second and Gary frowned at her, ordering his Pokémon back into the pokéball. He jogged over to Misty, planning on helping her.

"Great battle," he said when he reached her. "Come on, let's get your Vaporeon to a nurse." As he put out his hand for her to grab it, a shiver ran down his spine. He knew what that cold metal was at the side of his neck.

"Go away," admin Siam hissed at him. "Or I will make sure, you'll leave this place in a coffin."

Gary looked up at her, his eyes staring into hers. He knew she'd be able to pull the trigger. It was that same cold and emotionless look that Misty had given him a few weeks earlier. Yet, he wasn't planning on showing her he was scared. He just stood upright again, staring at the woman.

It was then that Archie spoke.

"Siam. Leave him be. Jet, let's go back to my office shall we?"

Siam put away her gun again, frown on her face. She spat towards Gary's feet and he smirked at her and waved. It seemed there was another woman who was annoyed by him. He wasn't sure if that was a good thing though.

When the two admins left together with Archie, Gary turned his attention back to Misty who was now getting up by herself and had already ordered her Vaporeon back into its pokéball.

"Can I sit around more now?" Gary asked her after she dusted off her clothes. He couldn't help but look at her from top to bottom. He rather liked the admins' outfit. A black and blue jacket with a pair of black jeans and blue boots. The colors fitted Misty.

Misty grinned at him and put out her hand. "Good fight. I guess I'll have to start training you now," she smiled at him.

Gary knew something was wrong but still put out his hand, only to be pinned down to the ground a second later. She had his elbow locked behind his back and he had nowhere to go.

"A Pokémon, says nothing about the trainer," she whispered into his ear. "Never forget that, Kai. You were good, but you're not better than _me_," she purred playfully.

She let him go and whipped her braid over her shoulder as she smirked down at him. He watched her go as she stalked off and shook his head as he got up. He was liking this battle between them way too much.

**A few days later in the cafeteria:**

Misty slouched into her chair and almost let her plate with food fall onto the table. She sniffed once and rubbed her bloodshot eyes. Matt stopped eating and just stared at her, his mouth open and fork still halfway up in the air.

"Are you alright?" he asked, unsure of what her answer would be.

Misty shrugged once and drank from the glass of water in front of her. Her hair was frizzy, her nose was dripping and her skin was so dry, she was sure she'd be able to scrape it off. The hammer that was knocking on her skull didn't help either. Somehow, she felt as if Kai's Blastoise had used a Skull Bash on her instead of on her Vaporeon.

She sighed and stirred her soup as she remembered their battle. It was one of the best she'd had in a long time. But it was no pleasure to lose. She admired the Blastoise though. He was fast and strong… She had to give it to Kai, he was a good trainer.

A smile tugged at her lips as she sipped from the soup. Archie had found their battle quite amusing and wanted them to train Kai more. There was still one spot left for an admin. If he was as talented at the other stuff as he was at this… Then he might become the next one. Talents like his, didn't come to the organization often. Which made her wonder if he was, in a sense, like her…

"Still can't believe," Misty whispered out loud, making Shelly and Matt give her questioning looks. "Took me years to be an admin and he could do it in mere months. He seems a bit too good to be true, don't you think?" she asked as all their heads turned towards him.

He was having a cup of coffee and talking to the blonde grunt with the Raichu. Alexis was her name. He laughed at her comments but Misty knew his eyes were always focused on her. Somehow she'd become used to it after a few weeks. Although she wasn't sure if he was looking for a way to kill her, or for a way to get into her bed.

"Yeah," Shelly answered, taking a bite from a baked potato. "But he won't pass the other tests that easily. Besides. Everyone knows that the first year of an admin is filled with missions to make sure they're the right person for the job. Most of them fail then. He won't be around for long anymore."

Misty nodded once and grabbed her temple in her hand. Like Pokémon, like trainer. She had gotten sick as well. But now was not the time.

Accidentally she pushed her fork off of the table with her elbow and the sound made Kai look up for a second. She could feel his eyes watching her as she grabbed her fork. It was then she heard her name.

"That admin Emerald, is like, such a loser," one of the female grunts laughed. "At least that is what Clint always says. She turned him down you know. I mean like, who would like, turn someone like him down? You'd have to be crazy."

Before Misty could get up and reply, she found Kai standing next to the female grunt who was on her way to the bin to throw some food away. He was reading a magazine, still holding his coffee and walked into the woman, spilling his coffee all over her.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Kai said. "I hope I didn't _hurt_ you." He was staring down at the older woman, the look in his eyes intimidating her and making the other grunt run off again.

Misty sat stunned as she watched him walking her way. He'd defended her. She was sure about it. He'd heard what the woman was talking about.

Kai stopped at their table, his magazine now next to her food, as his hand smashed it onto the table. "I need some help with this, admin Emerald," he said as he pointed at an article. "It's about the gender of Staryu's and Starmies. I heard you are a specialist around here, so could you-"

Kai's word were lost as Misty started to feel dizzy and grabbed her head again. She could feel his hand on her arm but she slapped him away with the last bit of strength she still had.

"Come back tomorrow," she answered, still holding her head with one hand. "I don't have the time know."

He looked at her worryingly as she scraped her chair over the floor and got up. She tried to walk as gracefully out of the dining room as she could. Once in the hallway her shoulders slumped and she had a coughing fit. It was then she felt an arm supporting her lower back. When she looked up, Kai was staring down at her, still that worried expression lingering on his face.  
"Emerald," he said to her. "Shall I accompany you to your room? You don't look so well."

She frowned at him. Loathed him for seeing her in this state, for having to support her. She didn't like to be touched. No one touched her. It meant they were close. And she couldn't let anyone get close to her. At all.

"I'm fine, Kai," she said bitterly. "I just have a cold. We'll reschedule our training to next week. I'll also explain you about the article then if you want me to."

He let her go, frowning down at her smaller frame. When she turned the corner, she could steel feel his eyes boring into her back.

"As if he really cared," Misty murmured to herself while she walked towards the hallways, hugging herself. It was so cold. When she put her hand on her head she could feel a fever forming and she silently cursed. She hoped she would be fighting him again soon. She wanted to beat him. But apparently, that wasn't going to happen.

The way to her bedroom was all a daze. She just fell down onto her bed, pulled the sheets close around her and fell into a deep slumber. A knock on the door made her wake up a few hours later. No one ever knocked. Was she dreaming again?

"Emerald," he heard his voice say. "Are you okay?"

Misty's heart starting racing a bit. He came to look for her. She could imagine him standing there, his hand resting on the cold metal door, waiting for her response. She turned to watch the clock on her night stand. It was 5 o' clock in the morning. Night shift had ended. He was probably heading to bed, and yet decided to come to her first…

She gripped her blanket and bit on her lip. Her fever wasn't doing her any good. If she opened the door and he tried something, she wasn't sure she could defend herself. But then again, was she really sure she was here to kill him? They hadn't found anything about him yet… Maybe, just maybe…

"I'm fine," she answered him. "You can go now. I don't need you to come and give me some nasty comment about my illness," she said bitterly. He just needed to go. She didn't want him to see her weakness.

She swore she could feel him smirk when he answered. "Shame, I brought you something though. You'll like it… I promise."

Misty had always been curious. Now wasn't anything different. "Just leave it here," she said to him. "I'll come and get it in a second."

"You sure?" he asked.

"Yeah. Go to bed, Kai."

His name seemed to linger in the air and she crawled out of her bed, blanket still around her. Her head rested on the metal door and she listened carefully until she could hear him walk away.

After a minute or two she dared to open the door. She eyed the hallway suspiciously through he crack of the door and then opened it completely. In front of her was a plate with a cup of tea and a hot bowl of soup. He'd left her a small note and she unfolded it, snorting as she read the sentence: _It is NOT poisoned._

Carefully she grabbed the plate and walked back into her room. She placed it onto her night stand and put her hand onto her pokéball for a second. Vaporeon would check the liquids for poison but somehow, she decided against it.

She slid under the covers again, welcoming the warmth of tea. Sipping the hot liquid, she couldn't help but wonder why the male grunt cared.

**Gary's POV:**

Gary had been pacing around the hallways for about five minutes now and his curiousity got the better of him. He walked back towards the admins' quarters and when he saw the tray had gone he smirked t himself. "That was a job well done," he said to himself as he put his hands in his neck, now walking to the elevators to get to his own floor.

The dorms, he extremely disliked. Especially because of the other grunts. They were all so dumb. Two younger males in his room were practically drooling over Misty. They hated him ever since he defeated her. And then the fourth one was Clint. Gary knew the man had once tried to woo Misty and had failed miserably. Yet, he was still trying to get to her.

He snorted out loud when he remembered the comment that bimbo had made about Misty earlier that day. That had been Clint's doing. He was sure of it. He'd seen the man watching the auburn-haired woman. He wanted her as his prize. But that wouldn't happen. Not if Gary had anything to say about it.

When he got back to his floor, he walked through the empty hallways towards his room. The rest of them would probably have to get up soon but he was just heading to bed. When he opened the door, Clint greeted him with a punch in the face.

Gary stumbled back a few feet and grabbed his left check. He could taste the blood in his mouth and he spat it on the floor, trying to get his thoughts clear again. So maybe spilling coffee over the bimbo hadn't been such a good idea after all.

He smirked up at the man in front of him as he whipped off the blood with his sleeve. "Mad that I embarrassed your girlfriend?" he laughed as he got up again, now ready for any attack he would throw his way.

Clint flung his right fist at Gary's face but he managed to deflect it, kicking the grunt in the side when he lost his balance for a second. The brunette had fought a lot of battles in his life. Mostly over women. It made him smile a bit as he realized he was back to his old ways. This fight wasn't because of that bimbo. It was because of Misty.

Clint spat as he got up again, clutching his stomach. "You think you're so good at everything," he growled at Gary. "You think you can get _her_."

Gary smirked back at him, taking a step closer to intimidate him. "Oh please. I haven't even tried my best yet. But it seems that you have no more tricks left, now do you? I know you tried to get her in your bed," Gary whispered with venom in his voice. "And if I ever see you trying it again, I will find you."

Clint hurled himself at Gary but he just stopped the man with his fist, making him fall down to the ground again. The professor crouched down and nudged the grunt's arm with his hand. "Stay away from her," he warned him.

He got up again and wanted to enter the bedroom when he heard someone calling his name. Alexis was running towards him, her blonde pigtails bouncing on her back.

"Kai!" she shouted at him, trying to catch her breath when she reached him. "What happened? I heard some noise and then I saw you and Clint fight and-"  
"Shut up, woman," Clint grunted as he got up again. "This fight isn't over pretty boy. I-"

"What is this nonsense?!"

The three grunts turned around and looked at an angry Misty. She was holding a cup in her left hand and a bowl in the other. Gary couldn't help but smile at her.

Her cheeks flushed when she noticed him watching her and he chuckled once, making her feel slightly uncomfortable. At the same time, Alexis was eying him closely and he could feel her raise an eyebrow at him.

"Clint, go back to your duties. And I don't want anything like this, to happen again," she said while pointing her finger from one grunt to another.

He grunted once and ran off, leaving the three of them standing there. "Alexis, bring these to the kitchen, will you? And Kai, you come with me. We gotta get your face cleaned up."

"I can go with him to the infirmary if you want me to," Alexis said, her eyes almost burning into Misty's. Somehow, Gary felt uncomfortable. It was as if they were having a silent conversation, trying to get the upper hand. In the end Misty just shook her head and put out the cup and bowl, waiting for the younger girl to take them.

The petite girl hesitated for a second but she obliged and ran off towards the kitchen, still eyeing Misty as she walked away from both of them. He couldn't shake of the feeling that there was something… Something more to the exchange they just had.


	3. What to do?

**Disclaimers: I do NOT own Pokémon! This is just fanmade.**

WARNING: This will be an Egoshipping (GaryxMisty) story. If you don't like this pairing I suggest you stop reading right now.

**Shattered**

Chapter three: What to do?

**A few minutes earlier at Misty's Room:** (Misty's POV)

Small rays of sunshine started to shine through Misty's window and she wrinked her nose as she could feel the warm light hitting her face. Too tired to do anything, she hadn't closed her curtains last night and she welcomed the warmth that greeted her. She turned around, taking the blanket with her and put the bowl of soup onto her nightstand. She felt refreshed and decided to bring both the cup and bowl back to the kitchen. Kai should be asleep by now, so there was no chance they'd encounter each other again.

Part of her felt as if something was wrong with him and she wanted to know more about him. All she could do was wonder who he really was. He had gotten the opportunity to grow up near a water Pokémon gym and a little stab at her heart made her frown. All the fuzzy thoughts disappeared from her mind and she got out, letting the baby blue blanket fall to the ground.

While rubbing the sleep out of her eyes she walked into the bathroom. The yellow cabinets glowing brightly because of the sunlight and she smiled again. Spring was coming. No more guarding HQ during those cold winter nights. From now one she'd have fun again and she'd prove everyone how good she really was. That she was better than _him_. She knew she was better than Kai. All she had to do was prove it.

It had been a long time since she last felt the kind of rivalry she felt when encountering him. Sometimes she felt twelve years old again, being a competitive gym leader. But those days were long gone and she had to put the past behind her. Some days she failed in doing so but she had managed the last couple of years. It was all she had to do in order to stay alive. To finish what she'd come for.

Her thoughts didn't make her happiness disappear and she let her weight shift from her left foot to her right one while she was brushing her teeth. She remembered a dance she had learned at the Orange Islands and once again that little stab at her heart made her thinking come to halt. There was no time to waste by thinking of the past. She had to think about the future, how to defeat Kai. He couldn't ruin her plans.

She walked back into her bedroom and opened the window. A slight breeze played with her hair and she closed her eyes contently. There was nothing better than waking up and hearing the sound of waves of the ocean. She wished she had lived closer to it a lot sooner. Although she had been surrounded by water all her life there was nothing better than the ocean. It was the reason why she liked the Orange Islands so much. There was nothing but the sea, everywhere you looked. One day, when she was an old woman, she'd probably move there and live a quiet life with her Pokémon. Well, knowing her, that life wouldn't be quiet at all.

The room needed some clean air and she let the window open, swinging her jeans over her shoulder to get dressed. Before she walked into the bathroom she glanced at the cup on her nightstand one more time and smirked. No way she was thanking him.

After readying herself to go downstairs, she took the bowl and the cup in her hands, making her way towards the kitchen. Some of the grunts bowed their heads as she passed them in the hallways but she held her head straight and didn't return their greetings.

Once she was in the elevator she let out a deep sigh. She was feeling better, but it'd still take some time to get back to her old self. Maybe she should go and see the doc later today, ask for some medicines.

When the elevator door opened, she could see Alexis running past her and both women eyed each other for a second. It was then that Misty heard a hard thud to the ground. She rounded the corner, not expecting the view in front of her. She quickly hid herself, and the blonde girl stopped as well. Both of them watched the scene in front of them unfold.

Kai was crouched down next to Clint, nudging is arm with his hand. "Stay away from her," he said.

A shiver ran down Misty's spine. The anger that was hidden in that voice. She'd never expected such a sound to leave those lips. She'd thought he wasn't like that at all.

He got up silently and wanted to walk back into his room. As if on cue, Alexis started running again, stopping him from doing so.

"Kai!" she shouted at him, trying to catch her breath when she reached him. "What happened? I heard some noise and then I saw you and Clint fight and-"

"Shut up, woman," Clint grunted as he got up again. "This fight isn't over pretty boy. I-"

She had to something before this got out of hand even more. Determined she turned the corner and shouted at them, anger filling her voice now. "What is this nonsense?!"

The three grunts turned around and looked at her. She stared into Kai's eyes and when she noticed him looking to her hands, she immediately realized what he saw. He smiled at her, and her cheeks flushed which made him chuckle. Stupid, stupid Misty.

Alexis had seen their exchange and looked up at him questioningly. He'd tell her later. Misty was sure of that. Ever since Alexis came, she'd tried to befriend the brunette. But Misty couldn't help but feel a tad of jealousy. Cause they couldn't be friends. Not real friends at least.

"Clint, go back to your duties," she said sternly while walking closer to them. "And I don't want anything like this, to happen again." Her finger pointed from one grunt to the other and Clint grunted once before running off, leaving the three of them standing there in an awkward silence. "Alexis, bring these to the kitchen, will you? And Kai, you come with me. We gotta get your face cleaned up."

She hadn't noticed at first but his cheek was swollen and red. It didn't fit him. She was so used to see his perfectly shaven, pale face. The bruise made him look unnatural.

"I can go with him to the infirmary if you want me to," Alexis said, her eyes almost burning into Misty's. The red-haired woman felt that Kai was feeling uncomfortable. That he somehow knew they were having a silent conversation. But Misty didn't want to give in to the other woman. She just shook her head and put out the cup and bowl, waiting for the younger girl to take them.

The petite girl hesitated for a second but she obliged and ran off towards the kitchen, still eyeing Misty as she walked away from both of them. All Misty could hope was that the grunt in front of her hadn't noticed the silent conversation going on between them.

**Gary's POV:**

"I wondered how long it'd take you," Misty murmured more to herself than to him. "You got into your first fight after about a month."

"You probably never got into one," he answered and she smiled a little. It was a sad smile and she was clearly remembering something. But before he could catch anything else the smile had disappeared, her serious side taking over once more.

"I got beaten up the first day I got here," she said. Her words were barely a whisper but he thought of how it would've been for her to come here. Maybe they'd known who she was and didn't really appreciate the friend of a champion being a part of their organization. "But it seems to me you didn't lose, now did you? You should clean that face of yours though. You don't want to be seen like this, trust me. They'll laugh at you or hurl themselves at you."

She took his elbow and started guiding him towards the direction of the bathrooms. At least he thought she was. He had no clue where else she could be going. "Why did you fight?" she eventually asked.

"Clint," he sighed, "is the most annoying roommate I've ever had. He asked for it." As he said this he noticed that she wasn't wearing her usual outfit. She wore the team aqua dark blue jeans but she was wearing a red top. The colour of the competing organization, Team Magma. What was she trying to do?

She snorted. "I wanted to give him a taste of his own medicine but it seems as if you beat me to it."

They both kept silent and she kept pulling him by his elbow. She wanted to hurry up, so no one would see them together. He knew how much Misty wanted her honor back and hanging around with him certainly wouldn't do it any good. He pitied her for counting on that feeling so much, for making sure people were scared of her. On the other hand, hadn't he beaten up Clint for the exact same reason? To make him scared and to get him off his back? To get him off Misty's back?

When they turned around another corner he realized they were at the part where the admin's quarters were. He'd been here a few times before, earlier this morning including, but he never thought she'd bring him here of all places.

She let go of his elbow as she pushed the buttons near her door and stood in front of it so Gary couldn't even glance at the little machine. At the same time she managed not to face Gary with her back and she eyed him a bit from the corner of her eye. She was still very, very suspicious, he thought.

He felt a little breeze on his skin when he entered her room and he noticed that everything was perfectly cleaned. Her bed was made, there were no clothes lying around and her desk was cleaned.

She walked into the bathroom and he silently followed, watching every move she made. When she walked back into her room his eyes followed her but as soon as she turned he acted as if he had been staring at his reflection in the mirror all along.

"Sit," she ordered him after she had taken a little stool and placed it in front of her bathroom mirror. He could see the cut in his face and a little bit of blood near the edges. It was no big deal so why exactly was she helping him?

He kept watching her as she took out a towel and a first aid kit. She was standing onto her tiptoes to reach the upper cabinet and he could see her grit her teeth. Why were girls so small again?

He sighed and got onto his feet, easily opening the cabinet and she frowned at him. He glanced at the cabinet and saw some disinfectant. She was probably looking for it so he placed it in her hand.

He sat down again and she kept throwing daggers at him as she crouched down, using a wet corner of the towel to clean his cut. The silence between them wasn't uncomfortable but he couldn't quite say it was relaxing either. They were just two people, looking out for each other. He had guessed she was doing this because he had brought her the hot beverage and her eyes told him she wouldn't help him again in the future. This was her way of calling a truce, for now.

"This might sting a little," she warned him as she took out the red disinfectant.

He hissed a little as the fluid touched his skin and she gently blew on it. He stopped hissing immediately. Not because it stopped hurting but because she was actually being nice. She didn't want to hurt him; she was just keeping her distance from him. From everyone. It was then that it hit him. Although she did seem to have friends she was still alone. Still shielding herself from the world in that mind of hers. Maybe a friend, was all she needed after all.

She got up onto her feet and took a plaster. Her finger gently pushed it to his skin to make sure it'd stick there and she seemed content after he was cleaned up.

"You can take a shower here if you want to," she said. "I know what it's like in the grunt's quarters. But don't consider this to be on a daily basis. We're not friends, understood."

He got up and nodded. Her emerald eyes were piercing right through him. Any other person would think she was angry at them but he could see through that mask of hers. He knew her way of thinking. He knew her. He'd read her diary at least a dozen times.

"This is your way of thanking me," he simply stated and she smirked.

"You're too smart to be a grunt. Don't show off too much. They may ambush you. Just take that shower and get out after you're done."

"Don't you need to change?" he asked, eyeing her red blouse.

"Oh this?" she asked, pointing at it. "I have to go on a mission in an hour or so. Don't you know that it brings bad luck if you don't wear your rivals color?"

She didn't wait for his answer and closed the door behind her, Gary staring at it. He remembered the last time he'd seen her and Ash together. They were fighting each other in an important match that day and Gary had always wondered why Ash had suddenly changed the color of his shirt to a purple one. Now he knew why. It was because of her, because she thought it'd bring him luck.

**A few hours later at Mossdeep City:**

"They're here," Misty whispered to Matt. They were both hanging onto one of the many cliffs that were on the sides of the island. Shelly was still at HQ, making preparations for the afternoon training sessions and probably waiting for them to return.

Matt now raised himself and looked over the edge carefully. He knew the dangers of being caught by team Magma. They both knew. He watched them walk into the Space Center and lowered himself again, signing something at the boat that was waiting for them.

"Can we confirm that they're here for the stone?" he asked Misty and she nodded once.

She'd had enough of waiting here. They'd been waiting on the cliffs for a sign of their enemies and now they'd finally seen them. Their leader carrying a package into the building. However, they also knew that they were still safe. Creating the stone would take about eight months but today they could be sure the progress was starting. Team Magma was going to make a red orb once more. But this time they were going to make it stronger. A lot stronger than it had been before. That's why it'd take them so long. But before the process was completed they'd infiltrate the building and make changes to the orb so that Kyogre would come back once again.

"We should head back to HQ now," she said to her partner before lowering herself a bit. They couldn't risk anything and certainly not to be caught.

"I agree. Archie will ask for conformation about our little exhibition. It has been years since we were able to call Kyogre back. It will work this time. Our plan is flawless," he answered.

She looked up once again and watched Maxie's back before he walked inside the building. They'd encountered before, when she first arrived at Slateport. Back then she was walking around in the local museum and suddenly found herself surrounded by people dressed in red. Soon after another group of people ran inside, some of the other visitors screaming. She knew what was going to happen when she saw the Pokémon, the guns. Yet she wasn't scared, she wasn't scared at all.

She knew who they were, she'd heard of them before. They were the two top criminal organizations. They were the ones who had power over whole of Hoenn. And one of them, she needed to get in. She wasn't scared of anything or anyone. Often she'd wondered why they had infiltrated the building at that day, right at the moment she was visiting. Maybe it was just her luck.

"Go back to HQ as fast as you can," she said to the grunt that was guarding the ship. "Tell the captain we need to be there in time. We've already missed lunch and we can't miss the training sessions."

"Yes admin Emerald!" the young female grunt said before running to the captain.

Misty and Matt stayed upon the deck, both watching the sea. It was calm today, unlike most days, and they gazed at the darkness beneath them.

"Were you there?" Misty suddenly asked. "Where you there last time we called upon Kyogre?"

Matt sighed once and turned her way, a sad smile plastered on his face. "I was there," he answered. "I lost some friends that day. Nothing went according to plan. But this time it'll be different. There will be no one interfering. It will be just us, fighting team Magma. And we will win and finally take over the seas of Hoenn, of the world."

"Archie never told me why it didn't work," she continued. "No one in HQ talks about it, most of them don't even know. Tell me what truly happened that day," Misty said, wanting to know more. She'd heard the rumors, got informed by people about the whole affair. But no one who wasn't there had ever known the real truth.

"There was a boy," Matt said as he faced the sea again, their base coming nearer by the minute. "Somehow he'd managed to obtain the green orb, the one that brought Rayquaza back. He stopped the fighting between Kyogre and Groundon. You see, when both beings are called upon at the same time, sea and land will fight each other. Their powers are matching, none of them will ever win. Their fights will only lead to destruction. But the dragon of the sky is the strongest out of the three legendries. He's the one that made them separate again. But the boy… I can still remember him. Deep brown eyes, raven hair and a strong little Pikachu. You've probably heard of him before. The Pokémon master. He and his friends interfered with our plans. Because of him we had to stop fighting team Magma. It was then they called upon Groundon. Luckily for us the boy had the green orb. The world would've ended in chaos if he didn't. We got our second chance because of him but we also lost our chance to take over the world all those years ago."

"The Pokémon master," Misty replied. "Ash Ketchum."

Her voice trembled a bit, a shiver running down her spine. Ash had wanted to stop team Aqua's plans and now she was doing everything in her power to make that old dream come true again. To get power over the ocean. Was she betraying her friend? No. This was what she had to do. This was her job.

Matt seemed to feel her distress and he put his hand upon her shoulder. "Everything will be fine Misty. Back then that boy knew nothing about us, he's nothing more than a fool who only cares for his Pokémon while he doesn't see their true power. He doesn't see the power of the ocean. You do Misty, don't you?"

She nodded once and smiled. "I do."

**That afternoon at the pool:**

Misty let her feet play with the water and she stared out in front of her. The happy feeling she'd had earlier that day had disappeared and slowly all kind of memories found their way into her mind. She remembered leaving home, taking several boats to finally reach Slateport and joining team AQUA. She reminded the lonely and awful first weeks at HQ, living in a dark and cold cell… How her mind had been tortured day by day.

"You've been looking at him for almost ten minutes now." She frowned and looked up at Shelly. The red haired woman sat down next to her and let her head rest onto her knees. "Interested in Kai?"

She raised her eyebrows and turned her head again. Aha. Three of the grunts had been training, her three good ones. She didn't even know they were, she was just thinking and not really paying attention.

"No," she said. "You know me."

Shelly smiled and both women looked at the battle in front of them. Somehow the full-grown Blastoise managed to avoid every attack from the two other Pokémon. He had the agility of a little Pikachu.

"I have no idea how he does it," Misty sighed and she now looked at the trainer who was in perfect control of his water type. He didn't flinch once and wasn't worried about losing. He had a lot of self-confidence. She envied him sometimes. After all these years in the organization, it was still hard for her.

"Well we'll see how he does it in the next training session. The room is ready, I just came to get you. You should put on your suit and tell the grunts to go to training room 3. Matt's grunts are there too, mine are sleeping. It's their turn to guard HQ tonight."

Misty nodded once and both women got up, taking a last glance at the training grunts. The Blastoise hit a Ludicolo down to the ground and she could see a satisfactory smile on Kai's face.

"You know," Shelly began. "Archie is thinking of going back to his old mansion. He told Matt after he informed him about team Magma."

Misty sighed. She knew this was coming. She had known it from the moment she had become an admin. Archie would leave. He was becoming rather old and needed his rest. But he'd never leave the organization for good. It was his life work. Plus, he'd want to see Kyogre. The one and only being he'd dedicated most of his life to.

"Will he appoint someone else then?" she whispered and the older woman nodded once. None of the grunts needed to know that their boss was going to leave. Not now at least. They had to keep quiet about it.

"He probably will. I'll still have my tasks as an admin but I'll be living in another quarter. Matt will be in control of the organization in two months but Archie will still be able to make sure everything's alright. He's getting old but this is still his organization. I don't blame him but Matt does. He feels as if Archie thinks he won't be good enough."

Misty looked to her left and saw the troubled look on the woman's face. She wrapped an arm around her shoulder and Shelly let her head rest onto her shoulder. "Who will take care of you now that I'm going to leave?" she teased.

"I can take care of myself," Misty answered. "I'm better at handling a gun than you are."

Shelly let out a laugh and some grunts turned their way. "You know I'm not talking about that," she whispered. "I'm talking about finding you a man."

"Not again!" Misty shouted and they both ended up falling in the water because of their laughing.

She gasped for air once she got to the surface again and slowly climbed out of the pool. Realization dawned upon her. Her time was coming, soon. There would be no more hiding, she would be free.

**About half an hour later in a training room at the other side of the building:**

"Right!" the emerald eyed admin shouted. "Left! Damon don't you dare to let that gun fall to the floor again! Ten push-ups, now!"

Gary looked up and watched Misty's face. Moments ago she had been laughing, making fun and he'd seen a part of the old Misty for a minute. But now... She was back to the Team Aqua Admin she'd been when he first set foot into the building. She didn't look at him, not once, but kept her face serious and watched every grunt taking out their guns and aiming with a laser to a target that registered if you hit it or not.

After another ten minutes of aiming, sometimes dodging lasers and 'killing' the target Misty let them all stop. Most of the grunts were sweating like a pig but Gary wasn't. He had enough stamina to continue this training session for another hour if he had to.

"There might be some hope left for you after all," Misty said. "But there's one task you won't be able to complete. Stand in line. And let's start that line with you, Kai. I'd love to see how you will do."

She looked straight at him, a satisfactory smile on her face and Gary wondered what she was up to. Her black outfit contrasted her pale skin and her hair was in a French bun, making her look older than she actually was. When she turned around for a split second he realized that the fabric was some kind of special material.

"Now, remember the order you were standing in and go to the far end of the room. I don't want any of you to intrude us or to stand in our way. Understood?"

They all raised their hands and said "Yes admin!" before walking to the back of the room, all curious as to what was going to happen. Gary wanted to follow but Misty called him back, making him stand only a few feet from her.

Soon the room changed, a field of rocks appearing in the middle and Misty was now sitting on top of one of them. She put up her thumb to one of the corners of the room towards a camera. The other admins were looking at this training session and making sure everything went as planned. Well, they thought everything would go according to their plan. No grunt had ever passed this test. It'd take them hours and hours of training to even hit Misty, they were sure nothing would go wrong.

"Now, for our next test," Misty shouted because she wanted the others to hear her as well, "you'll have to hit me. The black suit I'm wearing will detect every laser that has hit me and where it hit me. I want you to try and kill me, Kai. You have five minutes to shoot at me. This is just the beginning of course. Over the next training sessions you will have less time, have to shoot from a farther distance and you will have to avoid my shots as well. Not to mention the use of Pokémon in the progress."

"So I can do whatever I want to make sure I hit you?" Gary asked. "And you'll be running from me?"

Misty smirked. "You can do whatever you want but I can't promise you that I'll be running."

He raised an eyebrow at her. She wasn't just going to sit there was she? He'd hit her for sure if she did! He'd trained archery with Ash when they were both little so he knew a thing or two about how to aim a weapon but they'd aimed at flying disks, controlled by a psychic Pokémon. Not at something that just stood still. Where was the fun in that?

"Prepare to die," Gary smirked at her and when Misty lowered her hand he knew the game had begun. The lights dimmed down and it was almost impossible to see anything on the field of large boulders in front of him.

"I wouldn't count on that one," she answered and before he could even notice it she was gone. He'd seen her shadows, disappearing but he had no idea where she'd actually gone to.

He looked from left to right and even turned his head to look at the other grunts who were all looking as stunned as he. Where had she gone too? In the blink of an eye she'd disappeared. But soon he knew what this training was really about. Every good killer was able to adapt to his environment. No kill could be considered an easy kill. He'd have to go and look for her if he wanted to get a clear shot.

"You won't catch me if you keep standing there!" he heard her shout and he immediately turned his head. The sound was coming from behind the rocks. She really thought she was being clever, wasn't she? But his hearing was quite good and he knew where he had to go to. She was making mistakes already.

He tiptoed over to the sound as fast as he could and aimed his gun at the dark figure in front of him, aiming at her back. "Gotcha," he whispered but to his surprise the black figure was nothing more than a shadow of the rock on his left. He was sure that it had moved but it could've been his imagination or even a trick. He wasn't sure about the abilities of the field.

It was then he heard footsteps behind him, quick, almost like a Pokémon running and before he knew what was happening he lay flat on his back. He got tackled and his gun was now in her hands, she aiming the gun at his chest.

"Turn on the lights!" she shouted and soon everyone could see him, pinned to the ground with Misty on top of him.

"How did she do that?" one of the other grunts shouted. "They've been at it for only one minute and she already pinned him to the ground while he's much taller than her! Not to mention stronger!"

"It has nothing to do with strength," Misty said while she climbed of Gary and dusted off her clothes. "It's about technique, knowing your environment. You might think that shooting is only about aiming but it's not. It's about knowing your opponent, knowing exactly what move they're going to use next and knowing how the environment could affect your shooting. Now who was second in line?"

Gary listened to her words as he sat up, one of his hands hanging loosely over his knee. So it was all about knowing the opponent? He'd have her down in a second if he wanted to. He knew what she was like, what the real Misty was like. She couldn't hide forever in that mind of hers, some things just kept coming back. Her temper, her passion for water Pokémon, her impatience…

"I want to try again. If I may," he said. "I understand the task more properly now."

Misty turned around, raising one of her eyebrows at him. "You want to try again? Right after you lost?"

"Yes," he answered. "Please turn off the lights again."

She seemed to hesitate for a second, not knowing if letting him try again was a good idea. But she had to, she wanted to know what he was up to and soon she looked to the corner of the room. She shrugged once and walked back to her beginning stance and raised her thumb.

Soon the lights went off and Gary closed his eyes for a second. Knowing your opponent. He knew what Misty was like, she'd become impatient if he took too long. She'd come to him like she did last time.

"Are you planning on standing there for five whole minutes?" she yelled and he noticed her voice came from the opposite direction this time. So she was smart enough not to run to the same hiding place. Not that he'd thought any different from her. She was after all a killer. A thought Gary didn't really like.

He knew she could see the shadows and the contours of his body and he moved a little to a darker part of the field. His eyes were still closed and when he came closer to where she was he opened them for a split second, making sure she wasn't actually standing right in front of him. He didn't want to lose to her again.

Slowly, he closed his eyes again and this time he could hear her. She was going to sneak up on him again, he was sure of it. Her breath went fast as soon as she leaped and he turned around immediately, trying to locate where the sound was coming from. She was jumping at him, trying to tackle him again but this time he crouched down and aimed at the dark blur that was passing by. He saw his laser lit up the dark black suit for a minute and when he heard her fall to the ground he shot her again.

She didn't give up however and stood up again, disappearing into the dark area once more. "You're not bad," she said. "But you still didn't use a killing shot. Maybe I'd have a hurt arm or leg but nothing more."

"I know," he answered. "But what's the fun of ending this game so soon?"

He was sure he'd heard a snort and he wanted to laugh at her. But he didn't. He knew that she was ready to make a comment about this not being a game at all. This was the distraction she needed, this was how he would be able to use his final shot.

He waited for a sound and soon he found her, standing at the other side of the rock he was standing. Both of them were waiting for the other to move so they could attack. Neither of them did. Not until Gary threw away his gun and Misty got out behind the rock and tried to run to the sound, not expecting Gary to catch her by the waist.

One of his arms was around her neck, her back pressed to his chest. "There are a lot of ways to kill someone. And this time I won't let you choose," he said and he could feel a shiver running down her spine. Was she scared of him? His grip loosened a bit and she kept right where she was. Wrong move.

Before he knew what was happening she was pinning him down to the ground again, a smirk tugging at her lips. Even in the dark he knew she was smirking down at him. "Rule number one," she said. "Never play with your target. Always go straight for the kill."

She stood up and he followed her to the edges of the field again, she raising her thumb at the camera. Soon the lights were on again and someone was running inside, holding out a paper and Misty took it in her hands, examining it very closely.

"You've done well, Kai," she said. By the tone of her voice he knew that part of her was mad because he'd hit her but part of her was also pleasantly surprised. "It takes most people about five training sessions before they can even aim at me. You managed to wound me pretty bad in your second try. Tell me, what made you change your tactics?"

She looked up at him, her eyes filled with wonder and for the first time in a month he wanted to tell her that he knew who she really was. That he was happy to know that the old Misty was still there. That Ash still cared for her, that her friends still cared for her. But he couldn't. If he told her, she'd know who he was. He'd be killed, banished if he was lucky. And he'd never be able to save her.

"Know your opponent," he answered. "You're an impatient person. I've seen it before, when you were training us or when you were waiting for someone. Very, very impatient."

He turned his head when he heard his name being called through the intercom again. It was time to start his evening duties and he had to leave his training. Her mouth was open a bit but it seemed as if she decided to not reply to his comment. She seemed to be at peace with the fact that she'd won their physical match but that she'd lost their vocal one.

As he walked out of the room he could feel one pair of eyes following every step he made and even when the lights turned off again, another grunt now facing Misty, he knew that she was still looking at him in wonder. He looked back once only to see her standing behind a rock, her head turned to the other grunt. Maybe he'd been imagining things after all.

**At the same time in the control room:**

"Kai," Archie murmured more to himself than to the two other admins by his side. Never before had he watched the grunts' first shooting lesson but today was different. He'd seen the boy before, beating his best admin. Beating the woman that had beaten him years before. As time passed, he got more and more curious and even now he'd managed to get to her. He wasn't disappointed in Misty at all, he knew that she was his best. Sometimes he'd even regretted the fact that Matt was the one to take over his organization, Misty would do a far better job at it. But now this happened. This young man was beating her in every single way. He'd even managed to hit her, twice.

"Do we know anything about him?" he asked Shelly who was sitting at the computer, Matt watching the screen as he saw grunt after grunt fail their task.

"Apparently he grew up in Sinnoh," Shelly answered. "Has always been near water Pokémon and near a gym. He's probably had some training there."

"Near a water Pokémon gym?" he asked. "Trained by Crasher Wake?"

"Yes sir," Shelly answered before looking back at the screen.

"No wonder," Archie murmured again. "Let me know if someone manages to hit her again."

"Yes sir!" both admins replied and soon Archie walked back to his quarters.

Now that he was going to leave, he needed a few more admins. He knew that Misty could lead them, she was a very strong person. The only problem was, no one was as strong as her. Matt and Shelly were both second best but they were first in line to take over the organization…

When he entered his compartment he sat down in a brown, leather chair and let out a deep sigh. He'd been watching the executives for days now, trying to find one or two that could accompany Misty. He needed his admins. They were the ones that kept this whole place running. They trained the grunts, made sure the missions went alright. He needed a new one, and quick too.

"Maybe," he whispered. "Maybe that Kai can be of use. He has proved himself already but still.. There are things like beginners luck and even if he really has the talent, that doesn't mean he has the heart to be cold enough to be an admin… To be a real killer."

Archie closed his eyes and let his head rest against old chair. "What to do, what to do…"


	4. The mission

**Disclaimers: I do NOT own Pokémon! This is just fanmade.**

WARNING: This will be an Egoshipping (GaryxMisty) story. If you don't like this pairing I suggest you stop reading right now.

**Shattered**

Chapter four: The mission

Team Aqua's Headquarters: (Gary's POV)

"You will be obliged to leave your quarters after the incidents that have been occurring these past few weeks," Archie said, his thumbs fumbling with some paperwork that lay on his desk. A sigh barely escaped his lips. The man was clearly not very happy with this.

Gary eyed the man suspiciously. He'd heard that it had taken Misty more than five years to become an admin and after one month he was being moved to the admin's quarters. Impossible. He _had_ defied her but still. There was something else going on in the man's mind. He could sense it. The way he was sort of fidgeting and thinking about every word he said. There must've been another explanation.

"There is one room left for you. It will be located at the end of the hallways a little bit farther than Emerald's quarters. You will be permitted to leave the premises and you shall get a budget of your own which you can spend to your own liking. As for your codename, that will be Sapphire. Any more questions?"

"Why?" Gary asked. "Why do you want me to become an admin?"

Archie stopped fumbling and looked into his eyes, a serious expression on his face. He put his hands on his desk and let out a small sigh. "I have never said that I _wanted_you to become an admin. I, and the other admins, have yet to decide if your abilities are truly exceptional or if they are mere beginner's luck. Circumstances make it so. You shall accompany Misty in the duty of being an admin. She will have to give you enough information and toughen you up a bit but in the end you shall have the tasks Matt is currently ordered to do."

Misty. He'd said her name. It sounded so nice to hear someone say her name. It made her seem more real again. More her. Less frightening.

"Misty?" Gary asked as if he didn't know what Archie was talking about. "Matt? Who are these people?"

"They are the real names of Emerald and Jet of course. Siam is named Shelly. The grunts shall address you as Sapphire from now on. You do not need to worry. Their memories shall be taken care off. We have a fine team of Crobats and Alakazams who will take care of that," Archie continued as he got up and turned his back to him to look out of the window. It was dark outside but it was easy to see the nights were getting shorter. There was still a glint of red at the end of the horizon.

Gary frowned for a second, happy Archie couldn't see him. He'd heard about the memory games these organizations could play with the use of their Crobats or psychic Pokémon. But he'd never thought they could actually erase memories with the use of a Confuse Ray or psychic attack.

"They will not remember me?" he asked, trying to hide his annoyance.

"They will. But they won't remember your name. Only the admins and I will," the older man replied. "Now go on. Tomorrow Misty will take you out of headquarters and go on a mission with you. You'll be leaving for Lilycove City. A ship will be waiting to take you to Slateport the day after. Make sure you have some regular clothing. This will be an undercover assignment."

"I understand," Gary answered. "I shall be leaving then."

As he turned around, he could hear that Archie was still about to say something but he closed the door behind him before he could. He just wanted to get away from that strange feeling he got when he was near the man and he certainly didn't want to be reminded of all the minds that had been manipulated.

Lost in his thoughts, he ran into a grunt who apologized and already called him Admin Sapphire. So Archie had already taken care of things. He shouldn't have been surprised of course. He knew the man had been watching him ever since his battle with Misty.

"I wonder what Misty is going to say about this," he murmured to himself while walking towards his new quarters. "At least now I will be able to see Um-"

"So you've made it to an admin huh?" Misty scoffed as Gary walked past her. "You know Kai, I always thought everything about you was mere beginner's luck. But I have to say, even _I_ am impressed. How about some training later today? You could use it you know."

Gary looked down at Misty and saw that she was still wearing her black suit. She must've come back from the training area. Her french bun hung over her shoulder, strands of her hair that had escaped now resting on her neck. She looked tired. Yet, determined to fight with him. As always.

"It's almost seven. You should head to the cafeteria, Misty," he almost purred at her. "I would not want you to faint because of a lack of energy. You look worn out you know." He loved to see those eyes burn, it was the only thing that reminded him of the Misty he had once known when he was still travelling. "But you could always help me with something else I'm working on. Meet me at the pool in an hour will you? You promised me, you'd tell me more about it."

Gary turned around and walked towards his quarters as Misty called out to him that he was not the one to give her orders. He just smiled, waved at her and turned the corner.

Once he reached his door, the panel immediately asked him for a voice recognition and to insert a code. He did so quickly and entered his room. It was a bright blue room with a green accent wall. It was nothing too fancy, but it faintly reminded him of home. This was a place where he could be himself. In some sort of wicked way at least.

In his closet there was his spare Team Aqua outfit and a black shirt. On his bed lay a brand new credit card. He was sure he'd put it to use once they entered Lilycove. If he had to disguise himself from the world so he would not be seen as Gary, or a member of team aqua he'd need some other clothes and even hair products. It was always a problem to tame his wild mane. At least his mother had always said it was.

"Now my friend, come out," he whispered to the hidden pokéball around his neck.

His Umbreon immediately jumped against his shoulders and pushed him onto the bed, licking his face and wagging its tail. He was an older and more mature Pokémon but after such a long time not being able to really see his trainer or to stretch his legs he was happy to get out. He jumped off after a while and snuggled closer into the white blanket. Being outside was so much more comfortable. Perhaps he could even start to like it here.

"Okay buddy, you can walk freely now when we're in the room, but you can not stay here on your own. Stay with me, will you?" Gary asked as he tried to sit up again. "You never know when I need you."

"Umb, umbreeee!" his Pokémon answered and with that he got up and walked into his orange bathroom, still planning on how he could get Misty's approval and even her trust.

Once he was standing under the shower he finally got an idea. The reason he was searching her in the first place. He'd have to show her his interest in water Pokémon.

**One hour later at the pools: (Misty's POV)**

Misty walked towards the pools, her Vaporeon by her side. She had been wondering during dinner what Kai was planning. And when she reached the pool, she saw him standing in the water, a young Staryu and Starmie accompanying him. Faintly, she remembered him asking about the gender difference. Somehow, she'd thought he'd forgotten all about it.

He was wearing some swim trunks with the Team Aqua emblem on them. Most of the time these were only used for training how to swim but now that Kai was an admin, he could probably do everything he wanted. Already, he felt like a king.

"I thought you could explain something to me," he said to her as he swam towards her, his arms resting at her feet. "I know that you're one of the experts on water Pokémon here and I lent some Pokémon in the training room. I was wondering how to determine the gender of a Staryu and Starmie"

She wasn't startled by this question and looked down at his sapphire eyes. It was the name Archie had given him. Sapphire. It didn't fit him though. Neither did Kai. There was a name that would sound much more familiar with his face but she could not think of a name that fitted him, his eyes, his voice.

"Or, do you not know the answer?" he asked her with a mischievous smirk before swimming back to the Pokémon.

Yes, she knew those eyes. She knew that expression. But she couldn't remember where she'd seen it before. For days she'd been suspicious of him. There was no way a grunt could become an admin so fast. She'd been a gym leader and it had taken her years to be accepted, to prove herself. And this grunt with his dark brown hairs was so comfortable with everything he had to do. Well, for now he was. Training was different than actual missions. She'd test him the next couple of days. And she'd see if he really was fit for team Aqua or not.

"Look at their core," Misty answered as she was going into the water, taking of her shirt and revealing her blue bathing suit. It was an old habit of her, wearing it underneath her clothes. She'd always done it back in the day when she was still a gym leader. "It is not just a jewel as it seems to many people. Listen to it."

Kai frowned at her but did as he was said and laid his head onto the Staryu, his eyes now turning serious. She knew this man had two sides. Just like she had. Pokémon needed to be treated differently. You had to care for them, know them and train them. They were not like humans. They were friends who gave you an unconditional love if you treated them well enough.

"Stay still," she whispered to Kai who didn't seem at ease. Neither did the Pokémon who acted quite startled. As soon as Misty started to rub its back, it seemed to calm down. For a while, Kai staid still but a smile formed on his lips when he heard the faint thumping sound Misty was hoping him to hear.

"Is it, his heart?" he asked Misty with an amused smile onto his face. It was like giving an ice cream to a 3-year-old. But she was exactly the same when discovering something new about water Pokémon.

"Correct," she answered as she swam over to the Starmie and started to play with it. She knew this one was a child of her Starmie. "Staryu and Starmie's cores are actually their hearts. When a Staryu is born, their parents' cores light up. These Pokémon are hermaphroditic you know. They have no real gender. You only need two of them to breed a Staryu. Their mutual energy will form an egg of some sorts. Although their breeding process works differently. Unless the egg is being carried by a trainer. You know it is alw- why are you staring at me?"

Kai was looking at her with one of his rare smiles. The ones he only gave to his Blastoise. She knew they had a mutual understanding. He had connected to his Pokémon like she had to hers. But she wondered why he was smiling at her right now. Was he amused by her?

"It's nice to see someone else who's interested in Pokémon like I am," he simply shrugged before getting out of the water, water dripping from his black trunks onto the floor. "I'll take these two back to the training department. I guess I'll see you tomorrow?"

She looked up and nodded once, not being able to answer. There was something about him that got more familiar by the day. Or was she finally warming up to someone? Becoming friends? No, she couldn't be.

"Poooor!"

Misty's thoughts got interrupted by the cry of her Vaporeon and when she turned her back she could see its eyes focused on Kai's necklace. She had not seen it before. It was a simple yin and yang token. Something they sold in various stores around Slateport. She'd seen people wearing it before.

"She likes it," Misty answered when Kai took a few steps back. "It is not often she notices other people. She must've taken a liking to you. Even though you beat her… Strange… She does not like to lose you know."

"Yes, I guess she does," Kai answered, a scared look in his eyes.

"See you tomorrow," Misty answered, swimming towards the edge of the pool and crawling out.

Kai didn't reply. He just ran off as fast as possible and Misty watched his back as he left. His shirt hung over his shoulder and was starting to get wet in various places. The black string of the necklace made his neck look even more pale. But then he turned the corner and the only thing that was left were his wet footprints on the floor.

"You know something, don't you?" Misty asked the Vaporeon as it brought her a towel. "But you're not going to tell me?"

Her Vaporeon looked up into her eyes as she cuddled onto her lap and shook her head. She was not going to tell her trainer anything. Not about the person she'd recognized the first time she'd caught a glimpse of him and certainly not about the friend that was hidden inside that small green and yellow necklace. Cause even the Pokémon didn't know what they were doing here. They would both have to wait to see what they were planning.

**The next morning in Gary's room: (Gary's POV)**

"I wonder what we're going to do," Gary said to his Umbreon as he pulled on the black shirt and a pair of jeans. These clothes didn't really hide the fact that he was a team aqua member. At least he could leave the scarf and Misty would be wearing other clothes so he wouldn't be too obvious. He hoped.

"Umbreee," the Pokémon worryingly responded before snuggling closer to his trainer. He'd been worried about the fact that Misty's Vaporeon had sensed his presence. He was sure she had. But still, she had not told her trainer about it. He was sure of that. Else his trainer would've gotten kicked out or even murdered.

A knock on the door made Gary jump up. His Umbreon returned into his pokéball and when he opened the door Misty was standing in front of him. She was wearing a green shirt and black skinny jeans. Her hairs hung loosely over her shoulders and she held two jackets in her hands. A black one for her, a blue one for him.

"Guess that will cover you up a little more," she said. "I also brought you this."

Gary took the cell phone in his hands, thanked her and closed the door behind him. He'd have to inspect the device before using it. He'd not be surprised if there was a transmitter inside of it. As he put his cell phone in his coat's pocket, Misty started to call with hers.

"This is admin Emerald speaking. Bring out the AF Togepi in dock three. We will be arriving in four minutes," she said to the grunt at the other side of the phone. "Do not forget the suitcase I left at the reception." When she closed it, a little smile formed on Gary's lips. The AF Togepi. How fitting.

"What are you smiling at Kai? This is a mission and not some game," Misty said to him, a frown plastered on her face.

"Talking about this mission," Gary said. "What exactly are we going to do?"

"I guess I do need to inform you," Misty said as she showed her admin badge to one of the grunts. "We are going to Lilycove and will spend the night in a hostel there. Your credit card is unlimited and you will be able to buy yourself some new clothes. Of course, your expenses will be supervised and you will always have to fill in paperwork before you can buy things. I have already taken care of that for today."

"I see. And what will we be doing tomorrow?"

Now Misty smiled. "You will be tested. And if you fail, well…" A smirk appeared on her face as she got onto the motorboat and ordered her Vaporeon out of her pokéball.

"If I fail?" Gary asked.

"Let's say an excellent Crobat will take care of things then."

Gary slumped down into the back seat. He knew things like these would happen. His memory would be erased. Maybe even read. He'd heard some Swoobats in Unova were able to do that if they were well trained. They probably had an Alakazam with the same powers in headquarters as well. He had to pass this test. If he didn't, he'd be discovered.

Their trip to Lilycove only took two hours or so since the motor boat was built for trips like these. To get somewhere fast. During that time, Gary looked at Misty's small back and remembered the old days and wondered how he'd gotten into this. It all started with his curiosity. It had taken him to strange places before but he'd never thought he'd end up in a criminal organization. Certainly not to save a red haired tomboy.

Sometimes, the waves hit Misty's hair and face and he'd follow the water droplets until they fell onto the bottom of the boat. Somehow he felt free here on the ocean and he would not mind staying on the boat a few more hours. But time passed and they arrived in Lilycove sooner than he'd wanted.

He helped Misty searching for a spot in the docks and paid the owner of the hostel once they arrived. It was common courtesy to him but to Misty it was like being babysat. That's why she offered him to go to the Lilycove department store. She would be more comfortable once he was really wearing regular clothes like her.

"You don't have to come with me," Gary said to her once they walked through the doors of the shopping centre. He knew that a tomboy like here would never like to shop. Besides, he wanted some time for himself. He needed to think things through.

"I'm here to supervise you Kai," she answered. "Now act cool."

Her usual frown turned into a smile and she hooked arms with him, pointing at different clothes and urging him to try them on. He knew what game she was playing. She was trying to act like a normal couple so they would not seem suspicious. But her eyes told him a whole different story. She loathed him. All the kindness she'd shown to him was gone. Or she was hiding it very well.

In the end, and after being shown around the room by Misty, he entered the changing room with about fifteen different items. He tried on most of them quickly and paid for all of them twenty minutes later.

Misty still eyed him out of the corner of her eye when he went to the toilet to change into one of his new clothes but she seemed to be more at ease and eventually went to buy them some sodas. When he came back, she was still waiting in line at the vending machine, her right foot tapping on the floor.

Gary smiled and shook his head. "Still impatient."

He walked towards her, planning on scaring her once he stood behind her but he could see a man in dark red clothes walking towards the vending machine, a knife in his hand.

His heart started to thump in his throat when he realized the man was going after Misty. He tried to scream and run but all he could do was watch as the man reached her and put the knife against her throat.

Various ladies started to scream, men picked up their children and took their wives' arms as they saw the team Magma grunt attack the young woman.

"Everybody out of my way!" the grunt shouted as he walked backwards, still holding Misty in his grasp. He frowned at the other people and sometimes even pointed the end of his knife towards them, scaring them even farther away from him.

Misty's eyes shot towards Gary's and he immediately knew. This was all fake. She'd have the bastard pinned to the ground in a second if she wanted to. This was his test. Or at least one of them. And he'd fail if he didn't do anything.

"Let her go!" Gary shouted to the man who only smirked at him. He was sure he remembered his face. Yes, he was a team aqua grunt.

"What if I don't want to, pretty boy?" the grunt answered before entering the elevator with Misty. Right before Gary could reach it, it closed and Misty was gone.

"They're going to the first floor, sir," a young boy pointed out to Gary. "You can still save the pretty lady if you want to!"

Gary nodded and had to hide a smile. Pretty lady. How the tomboy would like to hear that. He ordered out his Blastoise and gave his orders. "It's time to go and prove we will not be caught, buddy," he said to the turtle Pokémon. "We're going to use that new move we learnt before we came to Hoenn. Remember?"

The Blastoise nodded and ran towards one of the windows on the street's side. "Use brick break!" The Pokémon obeyed and used it's fist to break the window before stepping forward onto the ledge. As soon as it was safe for Gary not to get glass onto him anymore, he jumped onto his pokémon's back. "Now, use smack down!"

With a load roar, the Blastoise jumped out of the window, Gary clamping onto his pokémon's back. For a few seconds it almost felt as if he was flying and that time had slowed down. They jumped down several stories before hitting the ground and Gary jumped off, waiting for Misty and the grunt to come out of the building, his gun in his hand, aiming for the doorway.

Five seconds later, the grunt and Misty came out, the knife still close to her neck. Both of them looked surprised and Misty even frowned at Gary.

"I'm very sorry, Emerald," he answered. "But I think this grunt will need to head back to headquarters and inform the boss that I can't be tricked so easily. Unless you want me to shoot him."

Misty scoffed and the grunt let go. Their plan had failed. The grunt was protected by his Staryu's light screen. No bullets would be able to hit him. But because Gary had discovered their plan, there was no reason for him to shoot someone. No reason to show he could shoot people.

"Let's go back to the hostel, Sapphire. It's getting late," she said as the grunt let go of her and she took Gary's's gun in her hand and lowered it to the ground.

Gary could only smile. He'd passed the first test. And he would not fail if there were more to come.

**A few hours later in the hostel: Misty's POV**

Misty sighed before going under water in the bath she'd prepared ten minutes earlier. Small bubbles of foam drifted around her and she went back up to get some air. She could not believe Kai hadn't failed his first test. She was sure she'd seen him, frozen solid when he saw what was happening to her. Yet, she was not sure if it was fear of the other grunt or fear of what was happening to her.

"I guess, your second test will have to be more difficult," she sighed to the room around her. Kai was already asleep in the room next to her. She was not supposed to let him out of his sight but her Vaporeon was watching him. Everything was okay.

She got out of the bath and took a soft yellow towel, drying herself off. This whole mission was meant to test Kai like she'd been tested a few years ago. Her tests were far worse than his. She'd lost her mind back then and she'd sworn not to let that happen to him. Unless he had no other option.

A stinging pain entered her heart when she remembered the Pokémon she had to kill in order not to lose her memory. The memories of her past life were something that made her who she was. And the memories of her mother were too precious to lose. The aching pain they brought, she could easily take.

But, like each year she would visit Mt. Pyre to visit the Pokémon. It was a small Spheal, that was using his powers to drown Shelly. All she could do was kill the Pokémon in order to save her friend. Later on she discovered that the Spheal was actually being controlled by an Alakazam. She felt sick after that, knowing that the organization would go to such lengths to test her. But she was a gym leader after all, they could not go easy on her.

She put on her clothes again and took out a long red coat from her suitcase. Her eyes darted to Kai's and she smiled at her Vaporeon. "Take care of him," she whispered. "I'm going to visit our little friend."

The Pokémon nodded and jumped onto Kai's bed, snuggling itself near his feet.

Misty frowned once, wondering why her Pokémon had taken a liking to the trainer. She shrugged and closed the door behind her, walking towards the reception. She asked a spare key and walked outside into the cool spring air.

A sigh escaped her lips and she fumbled in her pocket to find a cigarette. Once she lit it up she put it out again. Spring brought new life, so maybe a new goal was not so bad either. "Gotta quit smoking," she mumbled to herself.

Once she arrived near the Safari Zone she ordered out her Swampert and let it bring her towards Mt. Pyre. She had only brought her Vaporeon and Swampert with her. Her other Pokémon were probably better off in the pools and training rooms. They would not enjoy going out on such a dull trip.

"Stay here boy," she said to her Pokémon. "I'll be back soon, okay?"

The Pokémon let out a cry and Misty kissed him on his head. She had found his egg three years ago, abandoned by his mother and father, near Mossdeep city. He had been her little one as a Mudkip, just as her Azurill had been one day. But now he was a strong Pokémon, about to reach adulthood.

She turned her back and walked inside, not knowing the danger that lay ahead of her. Team Magma grunts had spotted her in town earlier that day and were now planning on catching her. They knew who team Aqua's best admin was. She was even admired for her strength by many members. But killing her and brining the body back to base would be the best they could do. She was always the one to ruin their plans. And now, as they thought they'd found a place to make plans, she was just walking towards them.

"Well hello there," the older grunt said as he eyed the young woman. She looked different in her regular clothes, nothing like the fierce admin they knew. She looked vulnerable. "I did not know team Aqua members grieved for their Pokémon?"

Misty growled and realized she had not brought any Pokémon or her gun. Oh well, these grunts could be easily defeated before they could even order out their Pokémon.

"We do not grief for our Pokémon," she responded with a smirk on her face. "You see, we are not so stupid or weak to let our own Pokémon die. Sometimes it's just nice to come here to see how many of your Pokémon have died."

The younger, female grunt's eyes almost shot her down. Misty had remembered her face when she walked in and the Golbat she'd lost during a mission. She had let the Pokémon fight till dead against one of her grunts. Stupid girl, thinking that Pokémon are mere fighting tools.

"I would not be so cocky," the man said. "Seeing that you are all alone, without Pokémon. Without your gun. You're nothing but a scared little girl."

Misty smiled. This would be fun. The man tried to grab her but she avoided him by ducking, took his wrist and twisted his arm around. "I would not say I'm scared, or little," she laughed. This was nothing but a game to her.

Before the girl could order out her Pokémon, Misty kicked her pokéball out of her hand, turned around again and knocked the man out with her left elbow. The girl would be much easier. She could see her scared eyes, especially know that she didn't have her precious Pokémon to rescue her.

"Never underestimate me," Misty said to the girl as she walked towards her. "You can not win against me."

"I would seriously doubt that, my dear."

Misty gulped. She knew this voice. Its owner's powers. Mack. He had gotten to her once and found her deepest fear. He was a master of illusions, some even said he got this gift from a Zoroark.

The red haired woman turned around and tried to knock him down but instead of Mack, she saw him. Ash. Her former friends. They were all laughing, her Togetic flying around Pikachu.

"Misty," he said to her. "Come with us, we're going for a swim. You like swimming don't you?"

His smile, his voice. His deep brown eyes. She recognized it all. Even his scent that the wind brought with him. The scenery was not familiar to her but she thought she was somewhere in Unova because that was where Ash was now.

"You're not real," she whispered. "This is just a dream."

"Misty," Ash answered. "How could this be a dream? Take my hand."

And she took it, and let him lead her to the top of the cliff. She could feel his warmth. Hear his laughter. Feel the wind of her Togetic's wings next to her. This was real. This was no dream.

"Come on Misty," Ash said to her. "Let's jump down."

And so Ash jumped into the water and her vision changed. Instead she saw Mack, holding her hand as her body leant over the cliff. The only thing protecting her from the jump was his hand.

"Goodbye Misty," he whispered into her ear. "May all your dreams become a reality."

And then he let go of her hand and she fell off Mt. Pyre, deep into the ocean. While her head was filled with memories of her past, which were mere illusions. But they all lead to the same outcome. She wouldn't be able to summon Kyogre, to get out of this mess. There were no friends searching for her, and the once who knew her, would be too late to find her. She'd die here and now. By the hands of a criminal.

**Half an hour earlier in the hostel: (Gary's POV)**

The door closed and Gary jumped up, calling out Misty's name. She didn't hear him and he did not go after her when he saw her Vaporeon lying at his feet.

"Hey there girl," he said to her as he rubbed her chin. "Are you supposed to look out for me?"

"Poor!" the Pokémon shouted, wagging its tail before snuggling closer to Gary, touching his token with her nose.

Gary took his necklace in his hands and looked down into the water pokémon's eyes. "You know who's in here, don't you? So you must be the one I've raised, aren't you?"

The Pokémon nodded and soon after, Gary's Umbreon came out of his pokéball, reuniting with his old friend. The two eeveelutions touched noses and jumped off the bed, Gary watching them. A decade ago, his grandfather had found an egg and wanted Gary to breed it. When it turned out to be a little Eevee, his Umbreon had bonded with it in some way. A few months later the Eevee was sent off to a gym leader in the Kanto region. Now he knew which. It was Misty's.

"Why haven't you told her you knew us?" he questioned the Vaporeon and the Pokémon just sat still, looking into Gary's eyes. She did not respond to him but just looked into his eyes as if wanting him to realize something important.

"Where is she now?" Gary wondered out loud and her Vaporeon jumped up and ran towards the window, making sounds towards Mt. Pyre.

Gary frowned. She'd gone outside all alone. After this afternoon's incident he wasn't too keen on that. He'd have to go after her.

"Vaporeon, you lead the way. We're going after her, okay? Umbreon, you go back into your pokéball. I'll call for you if we need you. Just stay in your pokéball whenever Misty's around."

Both Pokémon agreed to his plan and after a change of clothes, Gary and Vaporeon walked outside the building, towards Mt. Pyre. Once they arrived at the mountain, Blastoise brought Gary towards the entrance but when he saw some team Magma members standing inside, he stopped and hid behind the stone wall.

"Are they planning on a second test?" he asked the Vaporeon. The Pokémon shook his head and had a worried expression on her face. This did not look good. "Is she inside?"

After a few sniffs in the air, the Vaporeon nodded and Gary gritted his teeth. It was then he spotted the Swampert on the other side of the water, trying to catch something to eat.

Vaporeon jumped into the water immediately and brought the Swampert towards Gary. At first he could not recall if he had seen the Pokémon before but he soon realized it must've been Misty's. He had seen her wearing two pokéballs but that would mean she'd gone inside unarmed. He knew her gun was still lying on her night table, he'd seen it before he went outside.

"Great," he murmured to himself. "Every decent Pokémon trainer knows not to go outside without a Pokémon. And what did she do…"

"Pooor!" the Vaporeon shouted and Gary glanced once around the corner, noticing that two grunts were approaching him. He had to respond fast so he sent out his Blastoise and made it use his water gun on the two. They were down before they could respond. One of them had a swollen eye and he hoped that Misty had been able to protect herself. But if she had, then where was she now?

"Okay Vaporeon, look for Misty, we have your back!" Gary shouted to the Pokémon who now ran inside the building and came to the conclusion that Misty was way higher on the hill than they were.

Just when Gary found the path to the top of the mountain he heard a scream and saw something fall from the top of the mountain towards the ocean and the rocks beneath it.

Vaporeon was faster to realize who it was then he was. He could not identify the object as Misty until he saw her flaming red hairs being lit up by the moonlight. Her scream had faded, or maybe he had erased it from his mind.

There was only one thing he could do to save her.

**(Misty's POV):**

She felt the cold water beneath her arms, yet her body did not touch it. Her eyes refused to open and she felt herself float in the air. What was happening to her? Was this one of Mack's illusions?

"It's okay Vaporeon, she's safe."

That voice. Kai. What was he doing here? Why was he talking to her Vaporeon? He should be in the hostel. She forbid her Vaporeon to let him leave. She wanted to tell him what to do, to leave her alone. But soon she got over the shock a little and remembered she got pushed off a cliff.

No, she wasn't. This was just a game. Just some dreams in her head. Yes, her mind would be tortured until she couldn't take it anymore. That would probably be Mack's plan. She had to snap out of it.

She forced herself to open her eyes and she saw Kai, a bright yellow glow lighting up his face as he cradled her in his arms. "Everything will be okay Misty," he said to her. "Close your eyes. You're safe."

She could taste the salt water, she could feel the numbness in her limbs. The cold water crashing around them gave her goose bumps. She could hardly handle herself. This was too real to be a trick. But then again, so was Ash's warmth. No, she had to get away.

She mastered to gather some strength and kicked Kai into his stomach. He almost let her fall but he held onto her, refusing to let her go.

"Misty. Calm down. I'm not hurting you, it's _me_."

She opened her eyes once more and looked at his sapphire ones. She saw her Vaporeon and Swampert out of the corner of her eye and yellow lights circling around them. What were those things? Her attention got drawn to it but as soon as she looked at it, the glows disappeared. It had to be an illusion.

"Let go of me," she shouted. "I know this is one of your tricks, Mack!"

But he didn't let go and stepped onto her Swampert, still holding her. "I am not Mack," he answered her. "You know who I am, Misty."

She frowned at him and looked up at him as they left Mt. Pyre behind them. The full moon did not hide them from possible attacks of team Magma but Kai's Blastoise and her Vaporeon swam around them, making sure they were protected.

"Do you remember?" Kai asked her once again.

Right before she passed out, she remembered the name that fitted him most. Not Kai. Not Sapphire. "Gary," she whispered.


	5. Fighting

**Disclaimers: I do NOT own Pokémon! This is just fanmade.**

WARNING: This will be an Egoshipping (GaryxMisty) story. If you don't like this pairing I suggest you stop reading right now.

**Shattered**

Chapter five: Fighting

**Team Aqua headquarters:** (Misty's POV)

A faint beeping sound made Misty stir. The last thing she could remember was going outside to go towards Mt. Pyre. Everything went black after that. Her memories were just a blur and as she tried to think about what had happened, nothing came to her. Except for the horrible dreams of her past. She'd woken up because of them, because of her nightmares. She'd wanted to scream but she felt she couldn't move her body. Only a slight movement already took all of her energy.

She laid still for a while and tried to remember anything she could. Kai. Where was he? More importantly, where was she right now? Did she know the place she was in? Yes, she was sure of it. She recognized the scent around here and the beeping sound was familiar to her as well.

"How is she, doctor?"

A frown was plastered on her face. She knew his voice. But why was he speaking to a doctor?

"She is waking up, admin Sapphire. It seems she's finally recovering."

Recovering? Recovering from what? What were they saying? Was she in the hospital? Why would she be here? Had something happened to her? Impossible. She was undefeatable. Nothing or no one could've hurt her so bad she'd end up in the hospital.

"You can go now," she heard Kai whisper. "I would like to have a talk with her when she wakes up. I shall call you when I leave. The tests can start then, if that is alright with you?"

"Of course, admin," the doctor answered. A few seconds later she heard a door close and someone scraping a chair over the floor. It was a horrible sound.

"Be st-" she tried to say, but she couldn't find her voice. Why was everything so damn hard. "Wha- hapd to-"

"Misty, stay quiet," Kai answered. "I will give you all the answers you need later on. For now, I just want to say some things to you. Your body and mind were in a state of shock the past few days. You've been lying in the hospital for three days now and you will be fine in a week or so. The doctor will run some tests later today."

Misty let out a deep sigh. She still wondered what had happened to her but she was pretty sure she could trust him on this one. He would not want to have her killed. Part of her knew that, but she could not recall why she was so sure of this.

"Misty?" Kai whispered.

She nodded once, still too tired to speak. Her eyes had opened for a split second but she needed to close them again. Everything around her was too bright. The lights, the white walls, even Kai's eyes that were looking down on her. Her headache didn't help either.

"What's my name?"

She raised one of her eyebrows at him. Was he seriously doubting her mental ability right now? "Kai," she answered.

"And you love to fight with me, don't you?"

He was probably smirking at her. Too curious, she opened her eyes. Oh yes, he was smirking. Somehow he seemed to be relieved as well. But what for? All these questions just made her headache worse.

"I do," she whispered before falling asleep again, dreaming of Togepis and gym battles. Of the people she'd lost and the people that had stopped looking for her.

**That night in Gary's bedroom:** (Gary's POV)

A knock on the door woke up the brunette and his Umbreon sniffed in the air once before retreating into his pokéball. At first Gary was not sure what was happening until he heard someone at the other side shout at him.

"Admin Sapphire, the doctor wants you to come to the hospital immediately. Something is happening to admin Emerald!"

"Misty," he whispered, realizing what was wrong. He jumped out of bed, not caring he was wearing nothing but his green pyjama bottoms and the blonde female grunt that was waiting for him had to hide her blush when he almost bumped into her with his chest. Although he was slightly flattered, he did not have the time or need to talk to this girl. He needed to see Misty right away.

"Thank you," he said to the grunt, avoiding her gaze. "You can go back to your duties now. If something comes up, do not disturb me until I am back in my room."

The grunt nodded shyly, giggled and kept watching his back as he ran towards the hospital. He had no idea what could be wrong with Misty but when he arrived in the room he saw several nurses holding her hands onto the bed while strapping her legs onto it.

"Stop!" he shouted at them. Almost all of them jumped out of surprise and when they all kept still he noticed Misty's struggling, sweat pouring down her face. "What are you doing? That is your admin lying there. Help her instead of forcing her into something!"

Some of the nurses looked at him with a surprised expression, some with shame. "But admin, she has been screaming for half an hour, can't keep her calm unless we-", one of them said but Gary's look made her stop speaking.

"Leave this room, right now!" he said with a stern voice.

Quietly, they all left the room and Gary walked over to Misty who started to scream now. Her orange shirt and grey shorts seemed to stick to her body as she was sweating like a Grumpig. When he laid his hand onto her forehead he immediately realized she had a fever. Where was the doctor when he needed him?

"Misty," he said to her, taking one of her hands in his. "You are alright. Wake up, Misty."

But she wouldn't wake up, she could only scream and struggle against his grip. Sometimes she'd scream someone's name but he wouldn't recognize it. Until she said his name. Ash. It was then he realized what was happening. Mack's illusions were still having an effect on her, in her dreams. Something needed to be done to drift them away. But what?

"That's it!" he said to himself a few seconds later. "Come on Misty, we're going for a little trip."

He let go of her hand and took her in his arms. She felt small and even her powerful punch from yesterday, she'd lost. Her kicks and punches in his stomach, ribs and face didn't do anything to him. She was powerless, helpless. Never, had he seen her like this. It was as if she'd fallen into some sort of dark dream that drained all the power from her body.

While running towards the training room, he felt her sweat now dripping onto his chest. She wasn't looking too good. Several grunts gave him weird looks as he ran past them, but he didn't care. Not until Shelly almost walked into him and gaped at him.

"What do you think you're doing?" she shouted. "Why are you running around with a sick person? And wear some clothes, for Mew's sake!"

"Will. Explain. Later." he answered before running past her. He was almost there. He only hoped the Pokémon would not be out on a mission and would have the same abilities as his own Pokémon. It just had to. Else Misty could stay in this state for days. He had seen the illusion powers of a Zoroark back in Unova. He would not let the same thing happen to the young woman in his arms. He refused to.

With one of his feet, he kicked open the door of the training room, waking some of the Pokémon as he almost fell into the room. A Starmie seemed to have noticed them and swam to the edge of the pool, making sounds as it recognized its parent's trainer.

"Can you find me an Alakzam?" he asked the Pokémon and the Starmie darted of in another direction, the darkness surrounding him. Shelly had now arrived by Gary's side, Matt's Azumarill accompanying her.

"What are you planning?" she asked suspiciously. "You're not going to kill her, are you?"

Gary tried to catch his breath before answering. Why was this woman so concerned about Misty. She hadn't even visited her in the hospital. He knew because he'd asked the doctor who visited. No one had visited the auburn haired woman but him.

"Mack's illusions still have their effect on her mind," he answered as an Alakzam now approached them, the Starmie following it closely. "I thought Alakzam could fix that. We'll see in a bit."

"Ala! Zam!" the psychic Pokémon said to Gary who explained everything to the Pokémon. It nodded once and closed it eyes, sensing for the illusions in Misty's head.

"And?" Gary asked. "Can you help her?"

The Alakzam opened its eyes again and looked into Gary's, hitting him with such mental force that he fell on the ground, Misty still struggling in his arms. He could see it, everything that was going on in her mind. The trip towards Slateport when she'd left home. Her sisters laughing at her, Ash leaving. Her Togetic that flew away, her mother dying. The back of an older man who left the gym, the letter that arrived a few years later to tell he was dead. He could see it all. Such horrible things.

"Help her," he said once the Alakzam stopped showing him the images.

It nodded once and closed its eyes again, laying one of his paws onto Misty's head. A faint purple glow appeared around her and the struggling stopped. So did the screams. Shelly stood by and watched her friend turn to normal again.

"What did he do?" she whispered once Misty fell into a peaceful sleep, part of her resting against Gary's chest, part of her leaning against the wall. "It's impossible for Pokémon to heal people, right? Only Chanceys and Audino's are used in hospitals. How did you know he would be able to heal her?"

Gary caught his breath, still fighting the images in his head. He'd been able to read her mind for just a second. There were no happy memories. It was as if they were all locked up somewhere in her mind. She was hiding them.

"He used his Calm Mind," he answered. "And every Pokémon can heal or save a person if the right move is used. You just need to know which."

He stood up, taking Misty in his arms again. "Do you know the code of her bedroom?" he asked. "She doesn't need the hospital. Just let her rest in her own room. Those nurses do not know how to handle the sick. You better tell Archie about that."

Shelly watched him and did not answer. She didn't trust this man who knew so much and was good at everything. There was something going on with him, she was sure of it. Saving Misty when she was falling off a cliff would be impossible with only his Blastoise. Unless he'd saved her from the water. But there were no signs she had fallen into that ice cold water… Her temperature was pretty much fine when she got back to HQ…

"Fine," Gary said impatiently, "Alakzam come with me for a second. You can go back to sleep after that, alright?"

The Pokémon nodded, knowing what Gary meant and followed him back into the hallways. Shelly and the Azumarill kept standing in the doorway and watched them disappear, the red haired admin thinking of a way to find out more about this new male admin.

So, the Pokémon and the two admins walked through the building, several grunts still standing in the hallway and watching them. More of them had come out of their bedrooms to watch, but Gary ignored them all. His mind was racing about the things he'd seen. He had to find a solution to Misty's problem. She needed to remember the happy times again instead of fill her heart and mind with only bad memories.

"Use Telekinesis," Gary said to the Pokémon once they reached Misty's doorway. It opened and Gary stepped inside, the darkness surrounding him. He laid her down gently onto the bed and she immediately snuggled closer to her pillow. She'd be alright.

"Goodnight, Misty," he whispered.

As he turned around, the Alakzam was watching him intently, its eyes staring into his again. This time its mental force didn't make him tumble backwards but he just kept standing still, memories of Misty's travelling days blurring into one with his own. The hatching of her Togepi, the fight she had with Ash over a Totodile, the time when Ash took her bike, the tears that fell when Ash and Brock left, the challengers in her gym who lost and won, her mother picking roses with her, the day she got her Eevee, and the day she and Gary met.

"You know," he whispered to the Pokémon. It didn't respond to him anymore but just teleported back to the training room and closed the door, forcing Gary to stay with Misty until she woke up.

He walked over to the couch and kept watching Misty for a while, making sure she was alright. After that he went to sleep and dreamed about his travelling days and all the things that had happened these past few months. He had to get through to Misty, no matter what.

**The next morning:** (Misty's POV)

Misty woke up by the sound of a shower running. She opened her eyes for a split second and recognized the room as her own. Her headache had disappeared and she faintly remembered lying in the hospital. Her memories of the past few days were nothing but a blur but she knew that Kai would be the one to answer her questions. He had promised her that, hadn't he?

The shower stopped running and she heard the door open and close again. So someone really was showering. In _her_ room.

She got up, her knees still a bit weak but she managed to get to the bathroom door without falling over. After taking a couple of breaths, she opened the door and was stunned to see Kai standing in front of her, a towel around his waist.

"What do you think you're doing?" she shouted at him. He was so not using her blue Tentacruel towel, was he? If he was then oh Mew, she'd rip it off his body. If he was wearing something underneath… It didn't seem like a good option right now.

"What does it look like, Red?" he asked her and she scoffed at him, crossing her arms in front of her chest. It had been years since someone had called her that. She didn't like the nickname at all.

"This is _my_ bathroom, Kai. Go to _your_ room and use _your_ shower."

"I'm afraid that won't work since I don't know the code of your room. You see, I brought you in here with the use of an Alakzam after it had used its powers on you and well I-"

"You what?" she shouted, now walking into the bathroom and pointing her finger at his chest. "Who do you think you are, breaking into my room, using a Pokémon's powers on me?"

"I'm an admin," he smirked. "I can do anything I want, even to you."

"You!" she shouted at him before hurling herself at him, knocking both of them to the ground. "Now you tell me what has happened these past few days or I _will_ kill you. Admin or not."

"No you won't," he smirked at her, her hand around his neck. "You can not kill the one that has saved your life, Misty. Besides, you're too weak to do anything to me."

She let go of him and before she could ask another question she realized their position. "Oh for Mew's sake, put some clothes on will you! And if you don't, I'll kick you out right now!"

"Sorry babe, didn't bring any clothes. You really don't remember what happened last night, did you?" he purred at her, his face inches from hers. "Oh, is that a blush I see there. What are you imagining in your head? Is someone infatuated by me?"

"Kai!" she shouted again while standing up and stumbling towards the door. Attacking him had not been such a great idea after all. "I swear I will make you pay for this! Get out!"

"Yes, my lady," he obliged while walking towards her door. "Thanks for tonight, it was wonderful…"

She opened the door and he took some green pants from her couch before leaving. "See you at breakfast," he said to her as he intended to leave a kiss on her cheek.

"Make sure I don't poison it," she glared at him while taking a step back. Why was he acting so familiar with her? It just made her angry.

"You won't," he simply stated before walking towards his room.

Misty closed the door and she went back to her bathroom, still angry. She had no idea about the events of last night and she was sure Kai was just playing with her. "Cocky egomaniac who-"

She walked towards the hallway again, opened the door and screamed. "I want that towel back, Kai!"

Right before he turned the corner he waved at her with the back of his hand. "Come and get it, sugar."

That was the straw that broke the Camerupt's back.

**Later in the cafeteria:** (Misty's POV)

As Misty walked into the cafeteria, she was surprised to see Shelly and Matt at their table. It had been a week or so since the three of them could eat breakfast together and she was actually looking forward to it. Until a certain brown haired young man started walking by her side.

"So, do I have to bring your towel back tonight or would you rather come at my place?" he asked, several grunts who had heard him now turning their heads.

Misty only glared. "Admin Sapphire, I would appreciate it if you left your fantasies to yourself. As if _you_ would be man enough for me."

Several of the grunts snickered and even Kai had a smile on his face. "You didn't seem to mind when I held you in my arms last night, it seems as if you really do like me. Or at least my bare chest."

Misty stopped in her tracks and glared at his back, her hand now resting on her gun. She really did want to shoot him right now. The grunts whispering around her did not help her to calm down either. It even seemed as if they were actually telling Kai was right.

"I challenge you to a battle right now!" she shouted at him. "You and me, one on one."

Kai stopped, turned around and smirked. "What are you going to do, sugar? You still need to rest a couple of days, remember? Besides, last night was tiring enough for me…"

"It will be you who needs rest," Misty answered before dashing towards him, a smile tugging at her lips. She'd show him who really was the strong one. But once she was close enough to hit him she got stopped by another male's voice.

"Children," Archie said. "Calm down. I still need my admins. You can take your battle outside, after you heal up Emerald. Jet, show the grunts your pokémon's new move in the training room after breakfast, alright?"

Jet nodded once, knowing that Archie actually meant he had to erase the grunt's memories of last night. The relationship between Kai and Misty had been questioned by all of them and even Archie had heard of the events.

"Emerald and Sapphire, have a talk about the past days, yes? I will be expecting both of you later tonight in order to assign you to another mission. A real one this time. I think Sapphire has proved to be worthy of his title."

"But," Misty interrupted, "he hasn't gone through all the test he-"

"You will understand in a while. Now go. I'll be expecting you after dinner. And train some more together the next couple of weeks. I want you and your Pokémon to be perfectly trained for this mission. Understood?"

Misty nodded once and Kai just shrugged while walking towards the buffet. He was hungry and he wouldn't let anyone disturb his meal. Well, maybe he'd let Misty do so but only if it was to fight with him.

"Tell me," she said to him as she nibbled on some toast five minutes later. Matt and Shelly had gone to the training room to prepare the Crobats and they were left alone at the table. "What happened that night?"

"I saved you," he stated, playing with his empty glass. His mind was racing, she saw it. His eyes had that strange look when he was thinking, as if nothing in the world existed apart from him and his memories. "What do you remember?"

"I went to Mt. Pyre and then… I don't know. You were at the hostel with my Vaporeon, right? So how did you save me? From who or what?"

"Team Magma was at Mt. Pyre. Some grunts and their admin, Mack. You probably know him and his powers, Matt told me about it. He did something to your mind, he showed you illusions. And you believed them and followed him up onto the mountain. That's when he shoved you off the cliff. You fell but I was able to save you. Your Vaporeon and I followed you outside, it must've sensed danger."

"Then what did you do to me last night?"

"You woke up in the hospital yesterday after three days of sleep. Everything seemed to be fine until you started to struggle in your sleep. You were screaming pretty bad too. That's when I found out Mack's illusions must've been stronger than we suspected. I brought you to an Alakazam who used his Calm Mind on you. You seemed to be fine after that so I brought you back to your room. The Alakazam used his powers to open your door but closed it again before I could get out. Maybe he wanted me to look after you or something."

"You're lying," Misty answered as she got up from her chair. "There is no way all of that could've happened to _me_."

"Then go ask Shelly," Kai answered. "She was right there last night. By the way, those nurses you have around here aren't really well trained. We should do something about that after our mission."

"You already feel at home here, don't you?" she asked, cleaning her lips with a napkin. "I had never expected you to. You are too good to be part of this organization."

He raised an eyebrow at her, finishing his toast with one gulp. "What do you mean? Too good?"

"You and your Pokémon are well trained, you could easily search for another goal in life. And you are not pure evil like some of these people. I know you are. My Vaporeon wouldn't like you if you were," Misty answered, picking up her plate.

"Aren't you exactly the same?" he whispered to her back.

She acted as if she had not heard him and walked away, knowing that he was right.

**Later that day, at Archie's quarters:**

"In a few weeks, you will go to Mossdeep City and break into the Team Magma building. I want to know if they are creating a red orb or not. You shall not be seen, and if you are, make sure you get out there fast enough," Archie said to his two admins. Shelly was standing next to him, a worried expression in her eyes.

"Kai, I want to thank you. You've saved one of my admins and I'm very grateful for that. You can go now, Misty, I still need to talk to you."

Kai nodded once and left, but not before winking at Misty. What was he trying to do? Always teasing her, always laughing at her. She'd had enough of him already!

"Yes?" Misty asked as soon as Kai closed the door. "What's wrong?"

"I was wondering," Archie began as he took a cigar out of a brown little box on his desk. "Do you think we shouldn't trust Kai? Shelly has had her suspicions these past few days but I'm sure you will be able to judge him better since he has saved you. Well?"

Misty hesitated for a second. She didn't like Kai at all but he took care of her, and she took care of him in some weird way. Did she really want to give that up? Or was she just getting soft because of him? He was her equal in many ways, but he was also way better at things. She wasn't sure if she liked that.

"He doesn't seem dangerous to me, thanks for looking out for me Shelly," she said. "I have to go now, I still need to train some more with my Azumarill. I'll see you tomorrow."

Archie nodded and let her go. "Keep watching him, Shelly. I want to know who he is and how he got into this organization in the first place. He may seem like he's a perfect catch for our team but I doubt that his reasons for joining are sincere."

"Yes, Archie," Shelly answered. "I will continue my search to find his true identity. Tomorrow I'll be leaving for Sinnoh."

"Good, very good," Archie said.

**One hour later at the training room:** (Gary's POV)

"Blastoise use your Hydro Pump!" Gary shouted. His Pokémon barely missed its target. "Your Azumarill is pretty fast, Misty," he complimented her. "But not fast enough!"

"Don't get too full of yourself, Kai," she responded with a smirk. "Use Grass Knot!"

Gary was taken aback by this move and his Blastoise fainted only a second later. "Good job, buddy," he said to his pokéball.

Misty ordered her Azumarill back into her pokéball as well and picked up her purple sweater from the floor. They had been training an hour or so and Gary noticed she was still tired after the events of the past couple of days.

"We should stop for today," he said to her but she shook her head. "Misty, I mean it. I'm tired, you're tired. You won. Happy now? Or should I go and sit down on my knees and praise you, oh almighty admin?"

Instead of scoffing at him, she smiled a little. So did Gary. He loved to see her smile from time to time. It made him realize that what he was doing actually had a purpose. He had been doubting himself these past few weeks but somehow, he knew that everything would turn out well in the end. It just had to.

"You could just give me back my towel," she teased him as she walked past him. "And you better don't forget what you just said, I _am_ an almighty admin you know."

"You just wait until I beat you again," he said as he followed her outside the training room. "I'm quite good at battling you know."

"Yes you are," Misty said, looking in his eyes. "I'm sure you're good at a lot of things."

Her finger traced his chest but Gary took her hand in his. "I'm not going to fall for that again, babe. I know you want to know if I can be distracted. That's why your hand is around your gun right now, isn't it. You want to prove that you are better than me."

She frowned at him and let go of her gun. "You really are getting better at this. But don't worry, I always have new tricks to test you and one day, you will fail. And when you fall back down and become a grunt again, I will be the one to laugh."

"Oh my dearest Misty," Gary said as he planted a kiss on her hand, "you will be the one to fall. For me."

This made her laugh, like she hadn't laughed in years. "You know," she said. "The day that that happens, will be the day my Swampert evolves into a Mudkip."

"That can be arranged," Gary answered while laying his arm around her shoulders. "So, my room or yours? Since you'll have to fight me for that towel?"

Misty ducked, and twisted Gary's arm. "Never underestimate me, pretty boy. You can't always win against me."

"I would seriously doubt that, babe," Gary answered. It was then that Misty's grip on him loosened and it seemed as if she was in a faraway place.

"Misty," he said to her. "Are you okay?"

"I-I- just remembered. Mack. What he did to me…," she whispered. "I was attacking their grunts and then he… He asked me if I wanted to swim."

A small sob now escaped her lips and she let go of him, running towards her quarters. Gary just stood still and didn't run after her. He knew she wanted to be alone. All he could do now, was hope she didn't remember his name. He would be dead if she did.

"Ah buddy, I guess we're not going to look after her tonight after all," he whispered to his pokéball. "She'll be alright I guess. We'll let her fight us tomorrow." A small glow appeared on his necklace and he smiled. "Let's go to bed."

As Gary left, he didn't see the red haired woman standing in the doorway behind him. She was sure she'd seen the necklace light up. There was something strange going on with this man, and she would find out what.

Once he arrived in his room, he took Misty's towel as he sat on his bed. His Umbreon joined him a few seconds later and Gary started to twist and turn the towel in his hands. Once he was lying flat on his back, the towel fell into his face and he noticed it had her scent on it.

"Am I still doing the right thing?" he whispered more to himself than to his Pokémon. Without getting an answer, he fell asleep and dreamt about Misty for the first time in his life.

He dreamt about the first time he'd seen her smile, about her laugh and about every time she'd teased him. And somehow, he felt happy inside. Because this was the answer to his question, he was doing the right thing.

The next morning when he woke up, he jumped in and out of the shower as fast as he could and almost ran towards her room with her towel in his hand. Just as he had placed his arm on one side of the door and had his smirk plastered on his face she opened the door, only to step back a few steps when she saw him.

"Morning, sunshine," he said. "Thought you wanted something back."

She frowned once and when she saw her Tentacruel towel, she immediately took it from his hands.

"Now, a thank you would be appropriate," he answered. Instead he got a kick in the stomach. Surprised, Gary fell down to the ground and clutched his stomach. "What was that for?" he asked as he got up.

"Being more cocky than I am," she simply stated. "And I've been wanting to do this since yesterday. I'm feeling better, buttercup, so you better get ready for a fight."

"Fight?" he asked, leaning against her door again. "Are we going to play hide and seek again? I hope you're going to wear that nice black outfit from last time, you looked absolutely delicious."

A growl escaped her lips as she hurled herself at him but this time he was able to catch her foot easily in his hand. "Misty, Misty. Such nice legs. You're not planning on hurting them are you? You know it's a shame Team Aqua doesn't have a skirt in their outfit. Your legs would be some fine meat."

Another blow, this time against his cheek.

"Guess you didn't see that one coming, did you pretty boy?" she smirked at him. "Guess I will have to teach you a lesson this time."

She swung her leg around, making sure Gary couldn't hold it anymore and landed on her feet. The distraction of his hurt cheek had been enough to get free of his hold.

"As I said before, don't underestimate me," she said before hitting his knee with hers. "Because I will make you crawl back to your quarters if you do."

"You'll have to catch me first," Gary laughed, not hurt by her last blows at all. "Let's see how good of a runner you are."

He darted of towards the main hallway and he hoped his plan would work. He was going to let her win this one because she needed this. She needed to know she was still stronger than him. But his plan would have to be good. She'd know immediately if he was letting her win or not. He'd put in a lot of effort and then lose in the end. That was the only way to deceive her.

As he reached the main hallway, loads of grunts were already up and ready to go the cafeteria. One girl let her toothbrush fall on the floor when she saw Misty jump for Gary's feet, tackling both of them to the ground.

"Come on pretty boy, I know you're stronger than me," she said to him. "Why don't you dare to hit a girl?" she asked him as she was sitting on his back, pinning his arms to the ground.

"I'd like to have permission first," he grunted before he got up, Misty still on his back. "Allow me to show you my strength."

He tried to turn his hands so he could grip onto Misty's wrists and once he had them in his, he swung her over his back so she stood right in front of him again.

She was clearly surprised but she was prepared when his fist went toward her chin. She easily avoided him and jumped back a few meters, allowing both of them to catch their breath.

"If you want to hit me, then hit me, don't try," she said to Gary and he only smirked at her.

"I'll wait until you grow impatient enough to tackle me," he answered, brushing off his hands. "Come on Emerald, I know you love to play with me."

As elegant as a Delcatty she jumped and landed right between his feet, knocking him over once she gripped both his calves with her hands. She crawled onto his chest and pinned him down with both his hands, Gary now completely out of breath.

"Giving up already, Sapphire?" she asked. "Do you want to show all those grunts that you are weaker than a girl?"

He smiled at her. "You know you only want me to continue because you like me," he purred. "Besides, you should really work on your strength because those small hands of yours," he began as he worked his way out of her grip, "don't have enough power to hold me."

He gripped her by the waist, stood up and swung her over his shoulder. "Now who's the almighty admin?"

Misty easily escaped his grip and landed on the ground again. "Come on pretty boy, I'm not done yet."

Both of them smirked as they charged for another fight and both of them kept avoiding kicks and punches for about five minutes until Gary fell over his own two feet. Misty's foot ended up on his chest and he raised his hands.

"You win this one, Emerald. But I'll get back at you next time," he said.

She smiled at him and put out her hand. "Deal. Now come on, you can't be lying on the floor the rest of the day."

He smiled back at her and got up, noticing only now all the gaping mouths of the grunts and Shelly.

"No-no one has ever been able to keep up to her speed," Shelly stammered. "That's impossible. You had no training whatsoever and still…"

"Just leave it," Misty said. "We're going out for a bite, care to join us?"

"No, I have to go on a mission later today," she answered. "Some other time."

Both Gary and Misty shrugged and walked off towards the cafeteria, several grunts staring at their backs.

"I will find out who you truly are, Kai," Shelly whispered. "And my first visit will be to Crasher Wake."

**(A/N: OMG TWO UPDATES! Yes yes ^^ I hope you all like it and don't forget to leave a review!**

**Sorry for the late updates, I've been kinda struggling with everything but I'm fine right now, so more updates will come! I'm going to the UK tomorrow so no updates the following two weeks.)**


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